Code Lyoko: Evolution
by MiravsStella
Summary: Mira, a natural online hacker, is shocked to discover an enormous secret at the bottom of an old factory. Soon, Mira and her friends must fight a new evil in the form of a sinister student named Stella Zireau. Disclaimer: I do not own Code Lyoko.
1. Chapter 1: Rebooting

The screen in front of her bleeped annoyingly. A notice outlined in red flash across the screen: _You do not have proper access to this file. Please refrain from attempting to access. _Mira sighed. She had seen this message a million times over and over again, and they never changed her mind- what was the point?

Beside her, Hiroki Ishiyama shifted from foot to foot, bouncing up and down impatiently while Mira's fingers flew across the keyboard. She felt instantly satisfied, as her laptop returned to normal. She brushed her black curls out of her face and turned to Hiroki.

"There, you see? Nothing to it. I hack into the school's grading system every day," she said, trying not to sound too proud of herself.

Hiroki looked slightly nervous. "Well, I, um… thanks, anyway. I just wanted one grade changed- my latest science test."

Mira nodded. She could tell that Hiroki wasn't feeling all that confident about asking her to change his grades. She had learned long ago not to ask customers why they wanted what they wanted- it often got her into trouble. Not that trouble particularly bothered her. She swiveled back to the laptop, and entered in the grade, changing it from a D- to a B+, deciding not to make it too perfect; it only aroused suspicion.

Hiroki looked uneasy, and then broke into conversation. "Thanks, I'm not trying to be stuck up, but I don't want my parents disappointed, and my sister, and I just didn't want them to think I'm dumb…"

Mira laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's fine, Hiroki. Everyone asks me a favor once in a while. I do it for free- hacking, believe it or not, is actually a hobby for me."

Hiroki nodded, and backed out of her room. As soon as the door shut behind him, she could hear his footsteps pounding away as he sprinted for the staircase. Mira smiled and shook her head. Not a very confident rule breaker, she thought. A glance at her watch, followed by the loud ring of the bell, told her it was dinner time.

She folded up her laptop, and took one last glance around. The bed on the left, dresser on the right, and the desk behind her made up the furniture of her room at Kadic Academy. She hated how the desk had to be right in front of the window- the sun always got in her eyes when she was working.

Dinner was not all that appetizing. Mira was not fond scrambled eggs, or- for that matter- eggs of any kind. She skipped them and just took a salad and a glass of milk. She then headed for the table where her friends always sat.

"…Yeah, I know, and I heard that Mrs. Hertz was actually flirting with Jim… Oh, hey Mira!" Her friend Teralyn waved wildly for her attention. As always, Teralyn had that cocky little half smile on her face, and her dark red hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore a blue shirt that said "Life's what you make it" on the front, with her usual gym shoes and jeans. Mira took a seat across from Adam, who was more outspoken than most in Mira's gang, with white blond hair and his boring green shirt and sweatpants. The quietest in the group, Tom, sat across from Teralyn, and poked at his eggs in silence. He wore the same old gray hoodie, as well as a pair of baggy jeans. Mira could picture him drawing into his sweater like a turtle. His hair was a wavy, subdued brown.

"So, was Hiroki happy with the service you gave him earlier?" asked Adam, turning his gray eyes from Teralyn to Mira.

"I don't know if I'd call it happy. He seemed really nervous the whole time," Mira said, noticing that Hiroki was also here, and avoiding any eye contact with her.

Tom chuckled quietly, looking up. "That's how it always is with first timers, right Mira? They all get a little intimidated that you can break so many rules in one go."

She shrugged, saying that she guessed so. Her mind was now already back in her room, where a rather large pile of algebra homework awaited her.

Teralyn leaned in and lowered her voice. "Hey, Mira, Tom and I are going to check out that old factory down by the river tonight. We think it might be a great place to hang out, but we're going to do a little reconnaissance first. You in?"

Mira thought about it and agreed. "I'll regret it later, but I need a little a change of scenery."

"Sorry, guys, but count me out. I've got two hours of detention with Jim. I deflated the soccer ball again," said Adam, grinning. "See you later."

The other three said bye, and then simultaneously rose and deposited their trays. Just as they were about to exit the cafeteria, they were confronted by none other than Principal Delmas himself.

"Miss Anderson," he said with that grownup authority in his voice. "I just wanted to let you know that a new student will soon be arriving, and that you will temporarily be rooming with her."

Mira nodded. Her curiosity peaking, she asked, "Who's the new student?"

The principal adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. A sign of being unsure, thought Mira. "Her parents have told me that she would rather not reveal her name just yet." With that he strode away toward William Dunbar. "Mr. Dunbar, what's this I hear about spray painting the locker room..."

"C'mon," hissed Teralyn, "It'll be dark out soon!"

The three of them ran the long distance to the factory, Teralyn pausing only to ask why Mira was lugging her laptop along with her.

"You never know when a laptop might come in useful," Mira panted in reply. They arrived later than they had originally planned; the sun was already setting to Mira's right as they ran across the bridge.

"Watch out!" Tom shouted, skidding to a stop just short of the entrance. Mira slowed down, but Teralyn didn't react quickly enough, and crashed into Tom. The two of them teetered for a moment, fear on both their faces, before toppling over the edge into the ominous building.

"Guys!" Mira called down, just able to make out their forms in the thickening darkness. She searched about frantically for a way to get down there as well, and noticed a rope hanging directly in front of her. She grabbed it, swinging down and landing with both feet on the hard floor. She ran to her friends, dropping to her knees next to them. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," said Teralyn, who sounded dazed. "Sorry 'bout that, Tom," she said. Tom groaned and pushed himself up in reply.

Mira, satisfied that they were okay, got a good look at her surroundings for the first time. The inside seemed even larger than the outside, with many steel support beams all over. Immediately her eyes were drawn to a freight elevator on her left. She got to her feet and headed over to it.

Tom and Teralyn followed her, glancing around at the interior. Tom looked genuinely interested, but Teralyn seemed unimpressed. Ponytail swinging slightly, she examined the elevator along with Mira.

"You think we should see if it works?" asked Tom, joining them.

"I don't know… I kind of want to, but it could be dangerous..Mira no, don't!"

Mira had already pressed the down button on the elevator. She held her breath and waited, excitement pounding through her veins.

Nothing happened.

Teralyn swore. "Next time, tell me when you'll do that?" she said angrily to Mira.

"Sorry."

Mira examined the button, a frown forming on her face. "That's odd… there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with it. There must be a password of some kind. Fortunately, I happen to be the master of passwords." She opened her laptop and pulled out her mini connection cord. Opening the box in between the up and down button, she plugged the cord into a tiny little outlet next to a keypad. It only took her several minutes to crack the elevator's security system.

"Bingo!" exclaimed Mira, causing both her friends to jump out of their reveries. "The password is 22784243." Without waiting any longer, she punched the code into the keypad. The three of them gasped simultaneously as the door closed on them. Mira felt the going down sensation, and wanted to jump as she had when she was younger to see if she would float. Her victory made her feel like a child again.

The elevator jerked to a stop, and the door lifted to reveal an almost completely white room. It seemed to light up as they entered, blinding the three. Mira strode forward, then stopped and watched in awe as an enormous cylindrical structure rose out of the floor beneath her. It flashed black and gold, the steam issuing from beneath it making its entrance more dramatic, somehow.

Its emergence seemed like an eternity. When it finally halted, silence filled the room. Slowly, Mira took one step toward the thing, then another. More hesitant footsteps could be heard, and she knew that her friends were advancing toward it as well.

Tom was the first to break the silence. "What is it?" he whispered, eyes still wide with amazement.

Teralyn shook her head, clearly clueless. Mira, however, had an idea. "It reminds me of the inside of a computer," she said. Something on the machine caught her eye: a small lever, which hung down. She then noticed that the device was not blinking or flashing, like a normal device might. It wasn't even whirring. Mira then deduced that either it was an incredibly quiet computer, or it wasn't turned on.

As if in a trance, she began to move toward the switch.

"Are you crazy?" asked Teralyn, speaking for the first time since entering the room. "We don't know what this thing is, or what it does, or… or anything! For all we know, it could destroy the entire planet!"

Mira already stood in front of the thing. Her hand reached for the switched, and grasped it… she could feel the cool metal beneath her fingers. For a second she thought she might chicken out, but then she was pulling up with all her might.

The change in the room was almost instantaneous; the air started to get warmer, and a low humming started. Teralyn and Tom both gasped, while Mira simply stared as the structure began to light up, illuminated in its power.

Mira shook herself. What did I just do? she thought, panic beginning to build inside her. Teralyn's right, this was a mistake…

"Hey guys. Check this out," said Tom. He pointed to a set of rungs on the wall, which formed a ladder. The ladder led up to a small hole, which most likely opened into another room above.

"We might as well see what's up there," muttered Teralyn. "It can't get any worse."

After climbing the ladder, they received another shock: a room full of tube-like machines, which were open for whatever reason. After discovering that the ladder went even further, they climbed it again, and Mira's eyes were met with a hacker's wildest dream.

"I knew it, I just knew it, it is a computer!" she said happily, rushing over to the monitor. Pressing the spacebar on the keyboard, she waited impatiently while the screen loaded. All at once, in the center of the room, a structure popped up out of nowhere. Teralyn and Tom both yelled at its appearance.

"It's a holographic system," said Mira, without even looking. Her eyes were already glued to the monitor. "I don't believe this, it has such incredibly exclusive access to the web, I could hack the government on this thing…" Her fingers already raced over the keyboard at incredible speed.

Tom rolled his eyes, while Teralyn looked at her watch. "Oh no!" she said, sounding panicky enough to make Mira look away from the monitor. "It's almost nine o' clock. We need to get to the dorms now, or Jim'll kill us!"

"Okay, okay… hey, I can bring up the elevator from here." Mira typed in several equations, and seconds later the door (which looked like a giant lock) opened to reveal the elevator. She reluctantly shut off the monitor, and picked up her laptop from the floor to join her friends in the elevator. At that moment, she couldn't explore the computer's configuration fully, but she would definitely come back again later. Her only thought as they ran for school was that she couldn't wait to get there tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2: Turn of Events

A yawn escaped her lips as she headed for chemistry. Her poorly done homework tugged at the back of her mind, but it didn't seem all that important compared to her own findings. Mira was bursting with news, and couldn't wait to tell Tom about it.

She checked her watch, and was surprised to see she only had one minute to get to class. Mira was distracted by the information on the supercomputer, but she hadn't expected to be this off today. Taking off at a sprint, she took the stairs two by two in the science building, rounded the corner, and-

"Oooof!" Her breath was driven from her lungs as she collided with Gary Lambre. Tall, with zits and an attitude worse than his face, she was not overly pleased to see him.

Her attempt to slip past him into the science room failed; he blocked the way, preventing Mira from escaping into the safe haven where Mrs. Hertz's sharp tongue repelled anything foul.

"Just the nerd I was looking for," he sneered. Mira narrowed her eyes but said nothing. Unused to getting this reaction from students shorter than him, he blinked several times before continuing.

"I need info on the latest and greatest comics. Get it to me, and I might just let you and your little gang off the hook for next year."

Mira stepped back and observed his current stance. She noticed that he was attempting to look menacing. She saw through his trick of making himself look more threatening; she knew that he wasn't ready for a fight. She used one of her talents and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Funny, I don't remember us being on the hook in the first place," she replied coolly. "And for your information, I would shift your stance to look like you were bending over slightly. That way, you'd look like you could actually punch someone."

Enraged by this remark, he puffed up like a frog, opening his mouth to most likely throw any ineffective insult he could think of at her.

"Gary Lambre!" A sharp voice cut him off before he could begin to speak. Slowly, Gary shuffled his skateboarder shoes to face Mrs. Hertz's glare. "Please allow my student to join her class. While you're at it, why don't you go bring your troubles to the principal?"

Scowling, Gary shuffled off down the hallway.

Mira sat next to Tom, as she did every day. As Mrs. Hertz began a long lecture on the properties of a liquid, he bent close to her and muttered, "Anything new?"

"You wouldn't believe it," Mira whispered back. "That computer was actually created to maintain a virtual universe, with five sectors. In the past, four of the sectors were average climate regions"-

"Wait, you mean this isn't the first time that computer was on?"

"Shut up!" hissed Mira, glancing at Mrs. Hertz. Fortunately, their teacher was still facing the blackboard, but she could never quite tell with her. "Yes, it was on before. The fifth sector was just some kind of ever changing structure, it's hard to describe. However, somehow it evolved since the last time it shut down. The four main sectors used to be forest, ice, desert, and mountain. Now they're reef, space, forest, and cave, with the fifth sector now becoming a lava sector. I'll tell you the rest later," she murmured as Mrs. Hertz turned around once again.

Tom was told off several times for tapping his foot too loudly. Mira could tell that he was impatient to hear the rest of her discovery, but it would have to wait until lunchtime.

When the bell finally rang, the entire class seemed to race for the doorway. Nobody wanted to stay in a room where a lecture was being held. Tom was bouncing up and down as he waited for Mira, who slowly took her time. In truth, she was just as excited as he was, but she was often considered to be a leader among her friends; she wanted to look the part.

As the two headed across the courtyard to the cafeteria, Tom struck up the conversation with a question that caught Mira off guard.

"So what did Gary Lambre want with you before?"

Mira sighed. "The usual. Update him on his comics. You'd think there was something better he could do with his life."

Tom grinned in reply. Mira was glad that he refrained from asking her about the supercomputer; she wanted to tell it all to her friends without having to start over.

Mira took some soup, but only a little. She wasn't really all that hungry. Teralyn and Adam were already waiting for Tom and her to arrive. They waved them over to same table they always sat at.

Adam glanced around before repeating Tom's earlier question. Mira responded the same way, telling them what she had already told Tom before continuing. "The lava sector still has the same importance as before. It holds the core that supports the virtual world."

"And does this world have a name?" asked Teralyn.

"Yes; it's called Lyoko," Mira answered.

"Weird name, that," muttered Adam.

"Anyway," Mira continued. "Even the forest is different than it was before. More detailed, I think. Apart from that, almost all the programs that were stored on it were erased in the last shutdown of the supercomputer. There are only a few left. One is the virtualization program." She lifted up one finger. "Another is a program called, 'Return to the Past'." She lifted a second finger. "The third is- you're not going to believe this- a video journal called, 'The Diary of Jeremie Belpois.'"

Teralyn whistled slowly, and Tom said, "You're kidding!"

Mira shook her head. "I'm not. I'm talking about the whiz-kid in the tenth grade. Like us, he discovered the computer in eighth grade, and was the one who started it up. This woke up Aelita Stones, who… well, I'll explain that some other time. However, it also woke up a multi-agent system called XANA. This program could think for itself, and it wanted"-

"Let me guess," said Adam dryly. "World domination?"

Mira was surprised. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"It makes sense," Tom remarked thoughtfully. "You know, in all those movies, where a machine comes alive and tries to destroy all of humanity…"

"Okay, okay, I get it." Mira was slightly annoyed by her friends' interruptions. "Ulrich Stern, Odd Della Robbia, and Yumi Ishiyama helped them out too. William Dunbar was also involved, but… in a darker way."

"So they fought this XANA while the rest of us slept soundly in our beds?" said Adam. "Imagine that."

"Speaking of XANA, have we awoken him again?" asked Tom, looking worried.

"No need to worry, guys," said Mira. "The Lyoko warriors took care of it. XANA is gone, done for."

"Maybe…" murmured Teralyn, staring into the depths of her clam chowder. She straightened up. "But what if Jeremie or Aelita or any of them finds out? They all still go to Kadic, and I doubt they'll be pleased that we rebooted the supercomputer."

Mira shrugged. "We'll just have to keep it secret from them."

The four parted when the bell rang once more. Teralyn and Tom left for gym and Adam headed for study hall. Mira had a free period, and decided to head back to her room to catch up on her homework. Already Lyoko's interfering with my normal life, she thought, remembering what Jeremie had said Team Lyoko went through.

Her head still buzzing with what she knew, Mira was agonizing over a particularly difficult math problem when she heard voices outside her door. Brain fuzzy, Mira wondered who it could be when she remembered: she was getting a roommate today.

Presently, someone banged on her door. Jim, thought Mira, and when the sight of a red sweater greeted her she knew she had been correct. She expected the usual look of disapproval, but today he actually looked nervous. He turned to the newbie.

"So, ah, if you need any help with your things, or the cot, miss ah…"

"Zireau. Stella Zireau, if a full name is required for you to remember me."

A wave of cold suddenly seemed to sweep the room at the voice. Mira shuddered involuntarily, quickly understanding why Jim was on edge. The voice was a mixture of slight contempt and no emotion at all. She got the feeling that Jim would easily be able to remember this girl.

Her footsteps made no sound at all as she swept into the room. Mira's eyes widened in shock as she beheld the hair; it was pure white, long but almost messy, as if Stella didn't have the time or didn't care to wash it properly. Mira was instantly repulsed by this girl's mere presence in the room. She was careful to keep her face as blank as possible as, for a fleeting moment, their eyes met. Stella's eyes were a disturbing yellow that seemed to gleam hungrily. Mira was good at hiding emotions, yet Stella smirked slightly as though she could sense them anyway.

Then she turned away to set up her cot, and the moment passed.

Jim made as if to follow Stella into the room, but without turning around Stella held up her hand. "I do not require assistance." Jim shrugged, still uneasy, and left. Mira had no doubt that he would have run if he weren't afraid of looking foolish. Mira went back to her desk and tried to focus on her homework, but it was impossible when she knew that the strange new student was right behind her. Without a word, she gathered up her algebra and headed down to the library to see if she could focus there. After a pause she decided it would be a good idea to take her laptop with her.

While on her way to the library, she noticed a soccer game going on. That's strange, she thought. There weren't supposed to be any official soccer games that day. Then she realized that it was only a match for fun. As usual, Ulrich Stern was dominating. Mira still couldn't quite believe that the same star soccer player had fought on Lyoko to protect the world.

Upon entering the library, Mira noticed that it did not prove to be the quiet haven she had hoped for. Jim, the supervisor at the time, was giving a long lecture on his time as a volunteer librarian. To her surprise, he was indeed talking about it, half-yelling until he was red in the face at a few students that looked bored out of their minds. She guessed that he had something he'd _really_ rather not talk about, now that Stella was here.

Mira set down her books at a table far from Jim but not impervious to his speech. She'd rather have noise than Stella Zireau. Something was just not right about that girl.

Soon her free period ended, and Mira had to head for Phys. Ed.

Phys. Ed, being her last class of the day, seemed to pass by extra slowly. To start, Stella was introduced to the rest of the class, and Mira just couldn't wait get away from her. The other students acted the same; as soon as the newbie had joined the class, everyone edged away from her.

It was unusual for Kadic's student body to alienate a new student. Normally, they were welcomed by others and oftentimes interviewed by Milly and Tamiya, the Kadic journalists. However, even they were careful to avoid Stella as she walked swiftly through the courtyard, pretending to be busy with their cameras.

Not that Stella seemed to mind. She only ever looked people in the eye when they annoyed her, specifically during gym when Gary had taunted her. The glare he received shut him up almost immediately.

Mira met up with the others at dinner to discuss Kadic's latest student. "I heard that she's worse than Sissi used to be," Teralyn said. Glancing around, she added, "She doesn't seem to be here now. I mean, sure she's freaky and all, but everyone needs to eat sometimes."

"Maybe she came earlier and we didn't notice," said Tom.

"I doubt it," Mira replied. "She's got that cold aura around her, you'd notice if she was all the way across the soccer field."

Their conversation degenerated into an argument about just how far away you could sense Stella, when Isis Herldin ran screaming into the cafeteria.

The entire place seemed to erupt. Questions were thrown at her, but Isis just crouched down sobbing. In the end, Jim had to blow his whistle to quiet the place down.

"Now listen everyone!" he shouted. "Get back to your dorms, and don't ask questions! I'll take care of this young lady." Before anyone could leave, however, Isis suddenly looked up.

"It… it's Johnny!" she sobbed. "I found him and he's… he won't wake up!"

Silence ruled the cafeteria. Every student's attention was focused on Isis, as her story unfolded: she was heading for her room to pick up her math homework, when she found Johnny on the ground. She'd thought he was playing a joke and tried to shake him awake, but he wouldn't stir. She'd yelled for help and ran straight to the cafeteria. As she finished, the students once again began to bombard her with questions.

At that moment, Mira's laptop began beeping urgently. Only she and Adam heard it; he gave her puzzled look, which she returned with a shrug. His guess was as good as hers.

Lifting up the screen, she was slightly surprised at what she found. She quickly signaled for Teralyn and Tom to follow her outside. Both nodded, and the four of them edged out of the building.

Once out of the hubbub, Mira proceeded to explain her theory. "I've found out a way to connect to the supercomputer wirelessly, and get all the data from it onto my laptop. It's beeping because of a change in one of the conduits."

Adam frowned. "Conduits?"

"Power stations on Lyoko. This might sound crazy, but I think they can channel energy into the real world. They indicate if there's an abnormal change in the energy level of a certain spot on the planet. In other words, a disaster's occurring that isn't natural."

"Do you think that that's what happened to Johnny?" asked Teralyn, looking worried.

Mira nodded. "That's what I think. Back in the old Lyoko, conduits used to be towers, which were activated by XANA when he wanted to attack the real world, but like everything else, they've…"

"Changed?" Tom finished.

"Exactly."

Adam's frown deepened. "Is there any way to get the energy level back down to normal?"

Mira met the eyes of each of her friends in turn. "Only one way to find out."

She stowed her laptop in her schoolbag. Then, at a run, the four of them set off for the factory.


	3. Chapter 3: First Fight

The four of them stopped, panting, at the entrance to the factory. "We really need to find a shorter way of getting here," muttered Teralyn.

Feeling less urgent now that they had gotten away from all of the mayhem back a Kadic, Mira led her friends to the ropes hanging before the entrance at a more leisurely jog. She was thankful that the four of them were able to swing down to the ground floor without any incidents. None of them needed to fall ten meters.

"Wow." It was Adam's first time at the factory, and he surveyed his surroundings with awe. If that was his impression of the normal part, Mira wondered what his reaction to the computer lab would be like.

Teralyn seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Just wait until you see the supercomputer. It's really incredible"-

"Said the person who panicked when I turned it on," muttered Mira.

Teralyn spun around to glare at Mira. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

The four got into the elevator, Adam actually looking nervous. Mira suddenly remembered that Adam had a pretty bad case of claustrophobia, but he said nothing; she was impressed with his stubbornness.

This time she knew where to stop the elevator, and after entering the code, the huge door buzzed and slowly retracted to each side.

Mira almost instinctively headed to the computer chair. At once she switched on the monitor, and the virtual map of Lyoko popped up in the middle of the room. She typed without looking, concentrating on the computer screen as she searched for the abnormal conduit. It suddenly occurred to her that it was unusual for the connection her laptop had to Lyoko to instantly notify that there was an energy change. She put the thought aside; they had more important things to focus on.

"All right, guys," she said, trying her best to sound businesslike. "The conduit is in the forest sector. It looks like we might be able to reduce the energy level to normal by getting to the conduit manually, but I'm not completely sure. To do that, however, will be a risk for all of us."

Her friends shifted, looking uneasy. At once Teralyn stepped forward. "I'll do whatever has to be done," she stated, glaring at Tom and Adam as if challenging them to stop her.

Mira gave her friend an are-you-sure look, which only resulted in Teralyn turning her glare on her. Raising her hands in defeat, she nodded. "All right, Teralyn. If this works, you'll be the first in our gang to go to Lyoko. The virtualization program should still be operational; I've checked the scanners and there's nothing wrong with them."

"And if they don't?" asked Teralyn.

"Then we'll have to hope that they just don't do anything at all."

Mira watched as her friend swallowed nervously. She knew perfectly well that Teralyn would do anything to protect her friends from harm, but this especially took a lot of courage. Every one of her friends had qualities that she could always rely on; it was why they went so well together.

Adam and Tom went with Teralyn, ready to follow her into the virtual world if the process worked. Mira gulped. Expert hacker she might be, she was still unsure as to whether she could run the supercomputer properly. "Okay, you ready Teralyn?"

A muffled voice came from Mira's headset. "Ready and waiting in the scanner, Mira. Go ahead."

"Here we go," muttered Mira. She began typing, following the procedure to activate the scanner. "Transfer Teralyn…"

Teralyn watched, shaking slightly as the doors closed on her. Mira's voice became harder to hear as she said, "Transfer Teralyn!"

Teralyn took a deep breath, trying to calm down as she began to spin within the scanner. "Scanner Teralyn!"

Soon, the world began spinning ever faster, and the light began to feel unbearable. Teralyn panicked, about to scream for out when Mira said, "Virtualization!"

Wind came out of nowhere, blowing her ponytail straight up for a split second as the inside of the scanner whirled around her, and everything turned white. She hung in limbo, before the picture her eyes were seeing began to reform around her. She had just a moment to register the incredible scene before her, when a sudden pain in her rump distracted her.

"Ow!"

Muttering, Teralyn stood up, noticing that any trace of fatigue she'd felt after the run to the factory had vanished. The sudden sensation that she could jump a mile high overtook her, and she did jump, whooping. Well, maybe not a _mile_ high.

Teralyn noticed that she stood upon the thick branch of a tree. The branch connected to what was possibly the most enormous redwood she'd ever seen, or even heard of. Craning her neck, she tried to spot the top, but was unable to. More branches, some thicker, some not as thick, extended from the trunk, all the way to the ground far below. There was even undergrowth all around, some of which looked strong enough to be able to walk on.

After taking in the scenery, Teralyn then examined herself. Apart from feeling stronger, she also noticed that she wore some kind of form fitting suit, clearly made for combat. On her wrists, and attached to the suit, were red pads of some kind. Her knees had similar pads, while her shoes were both red and a deep blue. The entire suit was the same blue as her shoes.

"Teralyn?" Teralyn nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice, then relaxed as she identified it as Mira's.

"I'm here. You can send the others, it's safe. Wish you could come too, Mira, it's… fantastic. I don't know how else to say it."

Mira leaned backed in her chair, feeling envious already. She wished she could go to Lyoko as well, but she was needed to run the supercomputer. Unless…

Adam's voice called from the scanner room. "Hey, Mira, how long are you going to sit there? We'd like to be transferred before next year."

"Ha ha," Mira said sarcastically. She searched through the virtualization program for a way to get to Lyoko herself. After a few moments, she found a small link that said, 'Delay Virtual Particle Transfer'.

Sure that she had found the answer, Mira typed in a few more pass codes to activate it. At once another window opened up, with a countdown of about thirty seconds activating. Mira then headed for the scanner room via elevator.

Adam and Tom already stood in the scanners. Both looked surprised to see her, and began talking at the same time. Mira waved for them to be quiet and stepped into the third scanner, the same that- unbeknownst to her- Teralyn had taken.

"Mira, how"- Adam's question was abruptly cut off as the scanner doors closed around him. Mira's and Tom's did the same shortly afterward. Uh-oh, thought Mira as the interior began to spin around her. She got dizzy so easily…

Next thing she knew, she was suspended above a tree branch, before falling and landing flat on her bottom. By the two grunts that sounded on either side of her, she knew that Adam and Tom had fallen in a similar way.

"About time," Teralyn said, balancing with no trouble on the branch. Mira stood and discovered that she also didn't have any balance problems. She also noticed that the virtual world had sensations of every kind. A soft breeze stirred the fir branches, the sharp conifer tang tickling her nostrils. "Wow," she breathed. Jeremie had said in his journal that Lyoko did not provide any kind of sensation; this world had indeed evolved.

Mira took in Teralyn's blue fighter's suit. Adam was dressed similarly; he wore a black and white suit with fingerless gloves. He had black and white streaks in his blond hair; Teralyn's hair had no streaks, but was still in a ponytail. Tom's outfit was a bit different; he wore a sleeveless vest, with what looked like orange strips of cloth wrapped around his wrists. The vest itself was also orange, with what looked like swirling flames decorating it. He wore brown boots, with less form fitting, but still made for fighting pants.

Mira realized that Tom was staring at Teralyn, who noticed, frowned and said, "What?" Tom quickly said nothing and coughed into his elbow, looking away from her. Mira smiled at the exchange before appreciating her own outfit.

Her waist up was covered with small green scales, which shone in the virtual light. They continued down her arms and stopped at the elbows. She wore gray pants that were like capris, and small green sandals. Her head felt unusually heavy, and after reaching behind it she was shocked to discover that her hair, which in the real world was at shoulder length, fell about halfway down her back.

She shook herself. Think, Mira. The school's in danger. You need to find the conduit.

"We should get moving," she said, meeting the eyes of each of her friends. "Time could be running out as we speak, and someone could really get hurt it we aren't careful."

Teralyn stepped forward. "Do you know where the conduit is?" she asked.

Mira frowned, trying to remember. Coordinates flashed through her head, when it finally hit her. "It was 13 degrees east and 30 degrees north." She swiveled around, trying to get her sense of direction. A tug seemed to pull her, as she pointed down a tangle of branches that made a path leading upward. "We need to follow this," she stated, and without waiting, took off for their destination.

* * *

She walked, her overly sensitive hearing providing her with the distant rumble of panic occurring in the cafeteria. She had watched them carry more unconscious students to the infirmary, and the fear of every person on campus was delicious.

Her lips curled into a smile. Sweet dreams, she thought. Not that you'll need them.

A faint mental itch began irritating her. She had learned long ago that instinct was crucial, and followed the itch through her own mind like a scent trail, wondering what it could be alerting her of. What she found stopped her in her tracks.

Impossible. It was impossible that anyone could have discovered Lyoko, the only way of stopping any of her plans. How could they have known she was coming? There was nobody that knew her, not really. Kadic didn't want to know her.

Ah well. If those fools wanted to try and stop her, they might as well try. Emphasis on the word 'try', she thought.

* * *

They had followed the twists and turns of the huge forest, steadily climber higher and going deeper into the forest sector. Or were they already deep in it?

Mira couldn't tell the difference. This world was so intricately detailed, and it soon became clear that there were paths in the trees as well, not just on the ground. The four of them ran steadily, not one of them running out of breath as of yet. Just as she wondered whether or not they would ever arrive at the conduit, she noticed a bright red aura flash ahead of them. Another dash around yet another trunk, the pounding of her friends' feet on the wood behind her, and they arrived at an enormous balcony, with so many branches overlapping one another that it made a solid platform.

Directly in front of them was the conduit.

It looked like a control station of some kind, with three interfaces floating in a circle. The three screens were surrounded (and, Mira guessed, protected) by the red wall she'd seen earlier.

"Looks like we're not alone out here," muttered Tom.

He was right. In front of them, teeth bared, were three wolves. They snarled at the newcomers, yellow eyes darting quickly from Mira to Adam to Tom to Teralyn, and back again. It was clear to Mira what they wanted: they wanted to keep the four of them from getting to the conduit.

She searched her person for some kind of weapon. A slithering sound alerted her, and she whipped around to see Adam holding a curved black sword to her. He shrugged. "There's a sheath on you back, just so you know."

Mira nodded her thanks, and examined her sword. The edge was extremely sharp, yet the sword was very tough. The handle was the same material as the blade, so the sword appeared uniform through and through, apart from the green stone set into the pommel. It was light, not too large, and fit her hand perfectly.

By now, the others were searching for weapons. Teralyn pulled something from her side. "A whip?" she said doubtfully, looking it over. Then she saw the button. Looking intrigued, she pressed it.

A yellow aura grew out of the handle, wrapping around the whip until the entire length of it glowed. Teralyn grinned, now impressed and said, "I think I'll call it a lightwhip. The question is how much damage it can do."

Mira wondered about that. Jeremie had described XANA's monsters in his diary, but the wolves before them looked more like real wolves than any of the robotic creatures created by XANA. She saw no target eye on them anywhere; so how did they destroy them?

Tom discovered that he had two long, perfectly straight daggers, good for both throwing and close combat. Adam, it seemed, had no weapon.

He scowled at first, but then shrugged. "It's a good thing I'm a karate black belt," he said seriously. Everyone could tell by his tone that he wasn't kidding.

Cautiously, Mira began to advance toward the wolves, taking one step, then another. After a third step, the wolves did something unexpected.

"What the"- Teralyn gasped as the three beasts reared up on their hind legs. The unusual part was that they _stayed_ that way, balancing with apparent ease. Their snarls quieted, and suddenly they looked a lot more intelligent. Mira almost thought they were smirking. Her eyes widened as claws extended from their forepaws, lengthening until they were at least as long as Tom's daggers. Mira had no doubt that they would be able to use them well.

Without a second thought, she charged at them. Barely a moment later, her friends followed her into the fray.

A wolf loomed up in front of her, its claws flashing in the virtual light. She lifted her sword and parried the blow. The force of the impact surprised her, jarring her teeth. Quickly composing herself, she moved in on the offensive, slashing and blocking counterattacks from her adversary. A sudden idea came to her. Time seemed to slow down as she leaned back, avoiding another blow, stuck her sword into the wood behind her, and used it as a pole. She swung around on it, landing a kick in the wolf's knee.

The wolf howled, losing its balance for a split second, but that was all Mira needed. Completing her swing, she unstuck her sword and brought a lightning quick slash around to hit its middle. It disintegrated before her eyes, crumbling into blue virtual particles. Mira was breathing hard; she had never achieved such an acrobatic feat before.

The other two fights were progressing a bit slower; Tom, maneuvering quite well with his two knives, easily got inside the defenses of his wolf, and quickly defeated it.

Teralyn and Adam, working together on the last one, were having more trouble. Good as her weapon was, Teralyn could only block with her wrist pads, and Mira could tell by the strain on her face as she received each hit that it wasn't easy for her. She lashed out, her whip wrapping around the wolf's arm, injuring it. It snarled furiously, one of its claws hanging limply to the side.

"This is useless!" shouted Adam, clearly frustrated by not being more of a help. He attempted another chop to the neck, but it missed… however, something strange happened.

A crescent of energy was formed by his hand's slash in the air, continuing on the path he had intended and slicing through the neck. The wolf's howl echoed through the forest as it disappeared. Adam stared at his hands, a smile slowly forming on his face.

"I think I got it," he murmured. He performed another mid-air karate chop, with the same result; a streak of white energy flew through the air, cutting a deep rut in the bark of the tree. More enthusiastic now, he used several moves, each one producing an energy streak that flew in his intended direction. He turned back to his friends, grinning broadly. "It's a _really_ good thing I'm a black belt."

Mira smiled back, and turned to the conduit. She strode up to it, frowning. Placing one hand on the force field, she was surprised to see it go through. She pushed the rest of herself through it as well, and was soon surrounding by three slowly rotating interfaces.

So what now? she wondered, staring at the screens. Which do I choose?

Steeling herself, she placed her palm on one.

* * *

Chaos reigned at Kadic. Everywhere, students fell to the ground, senseless. Isis didn't understand what was going on- why was everyone just suddenly falling unconscious? She felt tears coming to her eyes again.

Then pain exploded in the back of her head, which was followed by blackness.

* * *

Mira saw her name pop up on the screen, followed by what looked like a large bar graph. Most of the bars were at an equal level, except for one, which was illuminated by red. She raised her hand to the bar to lower it…

* * *

Johnny, the first victim, lay in the infirmary. His breathing got slower and slower…

* * *

Mira slumped in relief as the bar obeyed her touch and leveled out with the others. She murmured to herself, "Energy level normalized."

Wheeling about, she exited the conduit, which she noticed was now surrounded by a blue aura instead of red. Her three friends stared at her, anxiousness on their faces. Teralyn stepped forward. "Did it work?"

Mira nodded, silent while her friends cheered. Tom slapped her on the back, and she grinned in spite of her exhaustion.

"Well. I did wonder if I'd gotten here in time."

The four of them froze. Mira felt fear seep into her spine, and the virtual world suddenly felt as if a cold wind had swept through it. She knew that voice. The voice without emotion.

Slowly, she turned to see her roommate.

Stella Zireau.

Stella returned her stare coolly. She had a completely black outfit, no patterns or designs on it whatsoever. Her hair was pinned up in a messy, unorganized way on Lyoko, and her eyes had gained an unnerving quality of being able to look right through you. Mira thought she saw the handle of a sword white as Stella's hair sticking up behind her back.

Stella smirked at them. "I must say I'm surprised that you succeeded. I thought inferiors such as you wouldn't stand a chance against my wolves. I will have to add that to my calculations next time."

Harshly, Mira asked, "What are you doing here?"

Stella laughed, the sound making Mira want to turn and run as fast as she could. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled as Stella answered.

"I would think that at least _you_ would have figured out that I'm the one behind all of this. The sudden release of a certain chemical fluid into the brain is poisonous, and eventually kills the victim. Of course, in order to accomplish this at your school, I had to influence the energy around me. What I'm confused of is to why you just happened to reboot the supercomputer just before I arrived here. Lyoko is, after all, the only way to stop me."

Mira narrowed her eyes at the girl standing before her. "I guess Lady Fortune isn't a big fan of yours," said Adam, speaking up from Mira's right.

Stella snorted. "Luck is non-existent. All of history shows that every major accomplishment of humanity was made because of the human will to cause things to happen. I intend to start one of those major accomplishments.

"I have always known that my actions are evil. I know that I am evil; I'm not one of those fools who believe that they're doing the right thing when they're really just being idiots. The thing is I just don't care."

She looked at each of them in turn, studying them intensively. Not one of them could keep from fidgeting under her scrutiny apart from Mira. Without another word, Stella turned away from them and free fell off the branch. Mira hurried over to edge, but saw nothing; Stella had vanished.

Turning back to her friends, she was suddenly visited by a desire to just go home. "We need to devirtualize ourselves," she said. "I think there's a simple way of doing that."

Each one of them glanced at their weapons. Teralyn nodded, understanding. "On three."

The number three was spoken, and they lashed out at each other, depleting their own life points in an instant. The next thing Mira knew, she was falling face first out of the scanner, with Tom and Adam clambering out of theirs as well. Tom's closed again, before opening to reveal Teralyn.

All four of them had dark circles under their eyes, and all Mira could think about was her bed awaiting her. But there was something she had to do first.

They took the elevator back up to the computer room, and Mira got into the chair. She explained to the others her motive.

"Jeremie mentioned the return to the past program in his videos. It was a way to go back in time in order to erase the memories of those attacked by XANA. Unfortunately, it also made XANA stronger, but I don't think it'll do the same for Stella. Return to the past, now!"

A strong white light issued from the holomap, enveloping everything around them. Mira felt herself being suspended for a moment, but soon found herself sitting in the library again, Jim repeating his lecture. She sighed with relief; it had worked.

Later, she returned to her room rather than going straight to dinner. While on her way, she passed Stella. Stella had that way of making people fall silent as she passed, and now was no exception. The only difference was that she gave Mira a look of pure hatred and contempt. Mira held her gaze until Stella finally turned away.

Whispers surrounded her now.

"Did she get Stella mad or something?"

"They obviously don't like each other."

"That's not good; I heard they're sharing a room until they find Stella a permanent one…"

Mira sighed, realizing how much had happened in so little time. Well, she would just have to keep fighting.

Because no matter how she felt, there was no way she could let Stella win.


	4. Chapter 4: Jumbo Problem

"Thank god for the sewers!" Adam hooted, bouncing over to their lunch table. About half of the students in the cafeteria turned to stare at him.

Mira leaned toward him as he sat down and hissed, "Why don't you say that a little louder?"

Adam grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, but that place (despite the ungodly smell) is just awesome for skateboarding in! Besides," he added, as Mira shot him an exasperated look, "If everyone thinks that we're just skateboarding down there for fun, it might draw attention away from why we really need to use them."

Mira had discovered that there were actually several ways of getting to the factory, all of which were a lot faster than just running there above ground. She found that the sewers led straight to it, and that there were entrances to the sewers in the park and in the boiler room. She and her friends had stored their skateboards near the park entrance, as boarding there was a lot faster (and less tiring) than running.

It had set off quite a hobby for Adam and Tom, as they now went below almost every day to just board for fun. While Mira agreed that they could try disguising their true motive that way, she would have much rather not drawn attention to any of them.

As she ate her lunch at a speed that was considered unhealthy by many, Mira realized that working on Lyoko left one's stomach quite lacking. Who knew that computer programming could be so difficult to figure out, she thought. As the thought crossed her mind, an idea slowly began to take shape in her head.

During chemistry, when they were supposed to be separating soluble solids from one another, Mira explained her idea to Tom.

"I've been thinking…" she said, leading Tom to glance at her and say, "Yeah, go on."

"Well… it's just that despite my skills at hacking into restricted sites, I don't actually know much about computers themselves, and how programs and all that work. I can barely run the supercomputer, much less create new programs to help us on Lyoko."

Tom nodded, understanding. "That would be a problem. As for a solution, what did you have in mind?"

Mira hesitated. "I'm thinking about asking Jeremie Belpois for lessons. If there's anyone who knows a lot about computers, it's him. I think I'll ask Aelita for help as well." She wondered what Tom's reaction would be. She had refrained from telling anyone else, especially Teralyn. She knew that her friend would not approve.

Tom frowned. "That's a little bit risky, don't you think? What if they suspect that you've restarted the computer?"

"That's a risk I'll have to take. Besides, I'm good at thinking up excuses." Mira was not as confident as she sounded. In truth, she was just as afraid of Jeremie's suspicions as Tom, but she couldn't think of a better option at that point. She resolved to ask Jeremie the next day.

After classes let out for the afternoon, Mira settled down on the bench in the courtyard, figuring she might as well enjoy the beautiful weather. Feeling the cool breeze on her face, and the warmth of the sun on the back of her neck, Mira wondered how many times she would be able to appreciate these moments while she fought Stella.

She sat, lost in thought. Stella had not attacked since the first catastrophe after her arrival; almost a week had passed, with life proceeding normally. Mira was noticing more and more strange things about Stella as the days went by: she never seemed to eat, she never studied for any test and almost always got a perfect score, and while she had shared Mira's room, Mira never remembered actually seeing Stella in her cot. The bed sheets were always neatly folded on the mattress. Stella had since gotten a room of her own, so Mira had no idea whether the girl really slept or not, but she suspected that the answer was the latter.

She heard her enemy's foreboding words in her head again: _I have always known that my actions are evil; I'm not one of those fools who believe that they're doing the right thing when they're really just being idiots. I thing is I just don't care. _

Mira knew that Stella had accepted her own nature and tendency to cause horrors, and was ready to use it however she wanted. What she was afraid of was how far Stella would go.

Bringing her mind back to the present, Mira began analyzing the profiles of her and her friends, searching for some kind of Lyoko power. She soon discovered her own ability, Flash Dodge. She wasn't sure what it meant, but she would try it out as soon as they next went to Lyoko.

Looking exhausted (no doubt from Jim's hard Phys. Ed. workouts), Teralyn and Adam plopped down on the bench on either side of her. Teralyn's hair had wisps coming out of her ponytail, but even as Mira noticed this, Teralyn began to fix it. Adam simply let his hair be.

He turned to Mira. "You think I should streak my hair with black and white, like on you-know-where?"

Mira shrugged, telling him that it was up to him. Tom soon joined them, after studying for an English test in the library.

"All right, guys," Mira said, activating her business voice. "I've just found out your powers. Teralyn, yours is Time Stop. It can only be used for short amounts of time, or it'll start to deplete your life points."

This was perfect for Teralyn; she was more cautious than others, and would use her power wisely.

"Adam, yours is Reversal."

Adam's expectant grin faltered. "And… what the heck does that do?"

Mira shook her head. "Sorry, I don't know; you'll have to try it out on Lyoko and see." Adam muttered something about obscurity.

Mira turned to Tom. "Yours is True Eye. I don't know what that does either." Tom merely nodded in response. Mira wondered when Stella would attack next; she had expected, after the first attack that Stella would be attacking quite often, at least three times a week. However, the few times Mira had seen her foe, the girl had simply ignored her presence, not even shooting her hateful looks anymore.

Teralyn put her hand on Mira's shoulder. "We need to be careful," she warned. "I'm willing to bet that Stella is trying to lure us into a false sense of security, and then bam! She'll go all out."

Tom shrugged. "I doubt that she'll go all out. She's probably prepared for what'll happen if we defeat her again."

"All the same, we need to keep our eyes open," Teralyn retorted.

_I'd listen to your friend_. With those words ringing in her head, Mira blacked out.

She awoke- or was she awake?- in Lyoko. Or what seemed to be Lyoko. Mira soon noticed that there was a difference. It was nighttime here, and everything seemed withered.

In front of her, in Lyoko form, was Stella.

Mira struggled to stand, noticing that she too had her Lyoko wear. She struggled to stand, and glared at Stella. "What's going on?"

Stella had her emotionless face on. "This is not Stella," she said, with her voice sounding strangely robotic.

Mira raised an eyebrow. "If you aren't Stella, then who"- she froze. Where she was, she was barely able to make out the symbol in her eyes.

XANA's symbol.

Mira instinctively backed away. "XANA, whatever you're doing, it won't work!"

XANA didn't seem to hear her. "This is a message from the past. I have set it to trigger, in case I am destroyed. The recipient is whoever restarted the supercomputer.

"I admit that my understanding of human emotion is limited, but I do understand revenge. Stella very nearly destroyed me, years ago. If you are fighting her, I will give you information you may wish to know.

"After I escaped Lyoko, I built hundreds of replicas around the world. One of them was near a laboratory with incredible technology. Using it, I built the world's first artificial human."

Mira was speechless. She could guess who this human was.

"I hoped to have someone I could inhabit, in order to better fight the Lyoko warriors. I gave my creation the intellect of the world's most advanced computer. It all backfired. She soon showed that she had an incredible will of her own, and ultimately decided not to be a pawn, but someone who moved the pawns. She infected the replica with a virus, which I was only barely able to stop. Among other things, when I teleported my servant William to kill her, she ended up dematerializing him within a matter of minutes.

"She can think, and do things most consider to be in the realm of science fiction. She can read people better than most."

The Stella clone turned its eyes on Mira. "I want revenge for the pain she caused me, even if it will not matter. I know that you will want to stop her. The key lies in her connection to Lyoko. Remember it!"

The clone began to fizzle out of existence, and then suddenly disintegrated. Blackness covered Mira's eyes once again.

She was first aware of the voices. Only a mix of murmuring at the start, but the voices became sharper and clearer, and then eventually she could make out Adam, pleading.

"Come on, Mira, wake up! We need you here!"

It was like struggling to surface from underwater. With massive effort, Mira opened her eyes. The sunlight from the window blinded her momentarily, but soon receded. She was able to make out that she was in the infirmary.

Adam sat on a chair next to her bed; Mira thought he looked more worried than she'd ever seen him. Teralyn and Tom stood next to him, concern on their faces as well.

Mira became aware that Adam was holding her hand. As she turned to him, he quickly let go, turning slightly red.

She tried to sit up, but was pushed back down by Yolande, the school nurse. She frowned.

"You're not going anywhere; you need plenty of rest."

Teralyn scowled at her. "Mira, you scared the… well… you scared us a lot!" she finished lamely. Mira smiled at Teralyn's attempt at scolding her.

She soon turned serious. "There's something I need to tell you guys, but later," she said, as the three of them leaned in. She glanced at Yolande, who was busy looking for something, and they got the message.

Mira realized that she was indeed tired; she didn't know that receiving a message from the past could exhaust her so much. She wanted to sleep the afternoon away- but there was something she needed to check.

She looked at Teralyn. "I need my laptop."

Teralyn nodded, understanding, and left the room. When Tom and Adam gave her questioning looks, she added in a whisper, "I need to make sure that Stella hasn't tried anything."

A few minutes later, Teralyn returned with her laptop. Mira was relieved at first to find that there was no activity on Lyoko, but that soon changed. The obnoxious beeping began, indicating an abnormal conduit.

Mira cursed under her breath. Not now, not when she was exhausted. She had a feeling that Stella knew that she had received some kind of vision, and that that was the reason she had decided to attack now.

Tom reassured her. "It's all right, Mira," he said, though he looked worried. "Just tell me how to virtualize us. Adam can stay here with you, and see if he can find out what she's up to. Teralyn and I will go to Lyoko."

Mira wanted to protest; even she didn't really understand the computer, but the determination in Tom's eyes made her give in. She would have to trust him.

"All right," she said, and whispered instructions to him. "Call me if you need to know anything else."

Teralyn and Tom ran out of the room. Mira silently wished them luck, turning back to her laptop.

Okay, Stella, thought Mira. What are you planning this time?

* * *

Tom followed Teralyn as the two of them sprinted through the park. He already had a stitch in his side. I should work harder in gym, he thought.

They arrived at the manhole cover, opening it to reveal the smells that Tom had to force himself to condone. He wanted to run through the sewers spraying air freshener, but that wouldn't change anything. Besides, he thought, if the government suddenly decides to track us with hunting dogs, they definitely won't be able to pick up our scent down here.

Grabbing his skateboard, he ran to get a good start before placing his skateboard on the ground and jumping on. The trick had taken a few times for him and the others to master, but in his haste it felt natural.

The cool wind blew on his face as he boarded through the tunnels. He could hear the wheels of Teralyn's board behind him. A few twists and turns, a jump over the water, and they arrived at the exit. After climbing the ladder and run the rest of the length of the bridge, the two found themselves at the factory.

A quick elevator trip later, they were in the computer lab. Tom was already at the monitor; whatever Stella was planning, he couldn't afford to waste time. Straining to recall Mira's instructions, he entered the codes needed to start up the delayed virtualization process. "Only a few seconds to get to the scanner room," he said to Teralyn. They hurried back to the elevator.

He stepped into the scanner, and not a moment too soon. The doors closed behind him, and the next thing he knew, the virtual world was all around him. He was prepared for the fall this time, and landed in a crouch. Teralyn landed similarly beside him.

"Whoa." The word escaped both of them at the same time. Mira had mentioned that they were heading for the reef sector this time, and had even given Tom the coordinates that would put them near the conduit. She hadn't said that it would look so… beautiful here.

The light wasn't as bright. It was the sort of half-light one would expect from being underwater, but Tom could still breathe. There was coral everywhere; some of it was normal sized, but a lot of it was giant, large enough to stand on. Like the forest sector, the coral in the sector formed twisted pathways, some of which went further up, while others led down deeper into the sector. Colors flashed vibrantly; the only thing missing was fish.

"This beats scuba-diving any day," Teralyn commented. She jumped, but gravity was unaffected by the underwater image projected around them. "Guess we can't swim, though."

Tom surveyed the area. There seemed to be about five paths branching off from where they were now. He pointed at one of the paths leading downward. "I think we need to go this way." As if to confirm this, a wolf came bounding up it, barking at them.

Teralyn sighed. "Stella couldn't have chosen a more _native_ underwater species for us to fight." She drew her lightwhip, igniting it with a push of a button. Nodding at Tom, she said, "Go on ahead; you're more likely to be able to deal with any reinforcements than I am."

"Gee, thanks," muttered Tom. He jumped up, tucked in his head and did a forward roll over the wolf, noticing a claw just barely missing him. Twisting in midair, he threw one of his daggers at the monster. It embedded itself in the wolf's back, but other than making the wolf howl, it didn't destroy it. Tom pulled his dagger out of the thing, and back flipped away just as the wolf whirled around to swipe at him. He turned and fled down the path, hearing the receding snarls of the wolf as Teralyn fought it.

* * *

Mira searched the web, hoping to find a sign of Stella's plan while Adam had a look around school. Yolande had at first objected to her using her laptop, but as Mira pointed out, it wasn't hurting her.

It was a while before she found something intriguing. She clicked on the video of a recent newscast.

"It was confirmed today that the pilot of an Air France jumbo jet lost control of the plane. For an unknown reason, the plane seems to be flying on its own, and while its exact destination is not known either, it seems to be headed in the general direction of France itself. More on this story later."

Mira's eyes widened, and she whistled in astonishment. Immediately she whipped out her cell and dialed Adam's number, relieved when he picked up. "Hello?"

"Listen, Adam," she said urgently. After telling him Stella's plan, he replied, "Not very big on finesse this time, is she?"

"Maybe, but it could still be disastrous. You have to get to the factory. Something tells me that Stella doesn't want Lyoko destroyed; you should be safe there."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to try and evacuate the school."

"Are you crazy? No one will believe you!"

Mira hung up, hoping that he would do as she asked and head for the factory. She struggled to sit up as Yolande entered the room

She frowned. "Young lady, you need rest! Lie back down at once."

Mira staggered upright, and pleaded with Yolande. "Please, you need to get out, everyone needs to get out!"

Yolande looked bewildered. "What on earth are you talking about? I think that the principal needs to hear about this!"

Mira complied, happy to tell the principal. But would he listen?

She burst into his office, the nurse hurrying behind her. Mr. Delmas seemed busy chastising Stern and Della Robbia for something, but he raised his eyebrows at her appearance.

Panting, Mira began. "Sir, please listen to me. A jumbo jet is going to crash into the school; you need to get everyone out!" She noticed Ulrich and Odd glancing at each other, but if they suspected, then all the better.

The principal frowned. "Miss Anderson, I don't really need this sort of nonsense from you."

Mira begged him, but he remained stubborn. At last, she shoved her laptop in front of him. "Watch this, then maybe you'll see!"

After watching the newscast, Mr. Delmas still refused to change his mind. "Maybe it's heading for France, but that's no reason to panic over it."

Just then, Yolande grabbed her by the arm. "I'm sorry for this incident, Jean-Pierre. She fainted earlier and has been exhausted ever since. Some rest and she'll be back to normal."

"No"- Mira was cut off. Then she noticed Ulrich and Odd standing. Odd shifted his feet. "Uh, Mr. Delmas sir, we think she may be right."

Ulrich nodded in agreement. "Even if she isn't, is it really worth taking the risk? If she's right, the whole school could be in danger."

The principal thought about it for a minute. At last he conceded the point. "All right, but if she's making up nonsense, she gets detention for a week!"

Mira was relieved, but she soon felt dizzy. She swayed, about to collapse when Ulrich and Odd steadied her. "We'll get her out of here."

Once the three were outside, they both frowned at her. "You've got some explaining to do," warned Ulrich. "Is XANA back?"

Mira shook her head. "You destroyed him, don't worry about that."

"Then what's going on?" pressed Odd. They both pounded her with questions, but she refused to answer; they didn't need to know yet.

As they walked past the science building, a shadow flew out from behind a pillar. Both Odd and Ulrich yelled as the shadow grabbed Mira by the neck and slammed her against the wall. Mira struggled against her foe, and then went still as a voice whispered in her ear.

"_What did you see earlier? Tell me!_" Mira wouldn't. She couldn't know. Her knowledge was her only weapon against her.

The shadow cursed her, and just as Mira began to see stars, she felt the pressure around her throat vanish. She regained her sight, just in time to see a flash of white hair disappear around the corner.

Mira called Adam. "Adam?" she said to confirm. She was glad to discover he was headed for the factory. "Be careful, and when you get there warn Teralyn and Tom. Stella's heading for Lyoko."

* * *

Tom blocked the blow. The wolf snarled in frustration, letting him get no closer to the conduit. He ducked low, and severed the left Achilles tendon of the wolf. As it staggered, he kicked it onto its stomach, finishing it with a downward stab to the head. He noticed Teralyn run up behind him, done dealing with her foe.

Turning to her, he asked, "You okay?"

She nodded. "I lost a few life points, but otherwise I'm fine. You?"

"Pretty much the same."

They turned back to the conduit, outlined in red. "Who wants to do the honor?" asked Tom.

"Neither of you will."

Tom whirled and scowled at Stella. Teralyn merely said coolly, "Just in time. I was sad that I didn't have more butts to kick."

It was Stella's turn to scowl.

Tom drew his twin daggers slowly, in a ready fighting stance. He murmured to Teralyn, "As soon as I say go, run for the conduit. I'll hold her off." Teralyn nodded.

"GO!" he shouted, as Stella leaped forward. Tom parried the slash from her curved white sword. He couldn't help but notice that, apart from the color, it was very similar to Mira's. Almost instantly she whirled, aiming this time at his hip. He was barely able to block it. Wow, she's fast! he thought.

He needed a change of strategy. He dove beneath her legs, flipping onto his back and kicking her away. She hit a lump of coral hard, and was back on her feet in an instant. Thinking fast, he shouted out, "True Eye!"

As Stella charged him, he noticed a change. In addition to her true self, there was also a specter of her in front. He watched as the specter slashed at his side. He brought his daggers up to his side, meeting the real Stella's sword with speed now equal to hers.

"What?" she gasped. He realized what True Eye did; he could see what would happen a moment before it did. He used it enthusiastically at first, and then remembered Mira's warning: _this power will deplete your life points if you use it for too long_.

The question was, how did he deactivate it? He yelled out, "False Eye!" which surprisingly worked- just as Stella stabbed him through the abdomen. He felt himself disappearing, and was relieved to see Teralyn enter the conduit.

* * *

Mira could see the plane. Odd and Ulrich gasped, and she yelled, "Get out of here!"

"No way!" they both shouted back. Students ran for cover, preparing for the worst.

* * *

Teralyn nervously placed her hand on the panel. Her name appeared, followed by a line of bars. Great, what do I do next? she wondered. Then she spotted the red bar.

* * *

Mira couldn't hear anything except the roar of the jumbo jet as it raced towards them.

* * *

"Energy level normalized," Teralyn breathed. Then a white light obscured everything, both real and virtual. Smiling to herself, she murmured, "Return to the past, now…"

* * *

Mira looked expectantly at Jeremie, tapping her foot. He looked thoughtful for a moment, and then shrugged. "Sure, I can give you computer lessons."

Mira grinned. "Great! Aelita, could you help too?"

Aelita smiled at her. "I don't see why not. I'm not doing anything big right now."

"Thanks, you two." Waving goodbye, Mira headed over to where her friends waited. "Hey guys."

"I'm assuming it worked?" asked Tom. Mira nodded.

She glanced over to where Odd and Ulrich were talking. Teralyn followed her gaze. "Do they remember?"

"No."

Adam looked confused. "I wonder why not? The returns didn't used to affect them, so why do they now?"

Mira thought about it. "Do you remember when I told you that all the programs had been erased apart from three? Well, their Lyoko files have vanished as well; I guess that the supercomputer doesn't single them out anymore."

"That's good," said Teralyn, "But what if one of them finds out and insists on going to Lyoko with us?"

Mira grinned. "As soon as I learn more from Jeremie, I'm going to work on a program for that, among… other things." Her smile faded, and she told them about the vision XANA had sent her.

"Her connection to Lyoko is the key?" said Adam doubtfully. "Couldn't he have been more specific?"

"I don't think so. Sending that kind of message must've taken a lot of energy. He probably had to activate at least five towers to do it."

The lunch bell rang, and Teralyn suddenly groaned. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

They all agreed enthusiastically.


	5. Chapter 5: Supposedly Offline

"Excellent work!" Jeremie exclaimed as he examined her newly made program on blocking her files from other hackers. "I can't find a flaw in it anywhere; there's no way I can get through. You catch on fast, Mira."

Mira smiled, tapping her feet on the ground and trying not to look too pleased with herself. Aelita was impressed. "Even I can't create a program of that quality in the amount of time you used."

"Guess I have a natural talent for computers," Mira responded. In truth, besides getting hands-on help from Jeremie, she'd been researching computers in her spare time, which did quite a bit to improve her skills. She felt that she wasn't so far behind Stella now.

The day was hot and sticky, and the presence of her warm laptop didn't help matters. Mira wished that Jeremie would at least choose to close the windows in his room, but she guessed that maybe after spending a year and a half cooped up fighting XANA, he probably wanted to enjoy the world more. It's funny, she thought, how you don't miss something until it's not there. She also mused about the irony of the fact that three people who had been involved with the supercomputer were in the same room, but only she knew it.

Just then, the bell for dinner rang. Mira thanked the two for her lesson. Just as she was about to head out the door, Jeremie called, "I'll teach you about viruses tomorrow."

She nodded, grateful. She didn't know what kind of tricks Stella might pull, and she wanted to be ready for anything. After all, the jumbo jet was probably only the beginning of the havoc the artificial human could wreak.

After leaving and making her way back to her own room in the girl dorm, she allowed the satisfied smile to slip off her face, to be replaced by exhaustion. The past two nights had been sleepless for her. Even though she got a lot more work on Lyoko done, it was taking its toll on her body. "I'll have to sleep one of these days," she murmured.

Mira had, in her spare time, learned more about computers, discovered that a fourth program had survived the shutdown: the superscan, memorized as much of the Lyoko holomap as she could, researched Stella's origins (though, as she suspected, she found nothing), and began working on her Memory Block program.

Mira wasn't sure if her Memory Block program was what she should be designing. She was aware that she should probably be trying to discover the meaning of XANA's words, but she wasn't even close to understanding them yet. Her Memory Block was already turning out to be tricky; in order to trigger memory eraser in a precise enough way, she needed to raise the energy level by using a conduit on Lyoko. She didn't know how to do so from the supercomputer as of yet. It would be too tedious to do it manually.

Setting her laptop down on her desk, she was careful to lock her door as she exited. Mira had considered starting a video journal, but decided that it was a waste of time. Even so, there was still quite a bit of important information on her computer that she knew Stella would like to get her hands on.

The cafeteria wasn't all that crowded; most people came to dinner a little later when it was boiling outside. Mira noticed that Tom, Teralyn, and Adam hadn't arrived yet, then remembered seeing them playing three-on-three basketball against Gary and two other big guys, Tad and Kyle. Despite the size advantage of Gary's gang, Mira was pretty sure that her three friends were winning.

She ate her steak and fries at a medium pace. Meals seemed insignificant these days, but Mira knew that it would be crazy to skip food. Her mind again drifted to the subject of how Stella never seemed to need food, or sleep for that matter…

She jumped as Tom put his tray on the table beside her. Teralyn and Adam sat across. All three were covered in sweat and panting slightly, but had never looked happier. Teralyn grinned over at the doorway, where Gary and his cronies slouched in. "Beat 'em 20 to nothing."

"You ought to play basketball too, Mira," Adam said, already wolfing down his meal. "It makes you feel great on any day, whether it's boiling or not."

Mira thought about it. It would be a good pastime; intramural basketball was coming up, and the teams were four on four. "Yeah, I think I'll play with you guys tomorrow."

Tom glanced at her. "You're exhausted," he stated. It wasn't a question.

Unable to hide it any longer, Mira nodded.

Teralyn looked worried. "You should really take a break tonight and actually sleep a little," she stated. She didn't sound commanding; she just sounded concerned.

Mira managed to glare at all three friends. "If I don't keep working, Stella gets that much closer to winning."

"And if you do," Adam added, "Stella will win for sure. Come on, Mira, she may be artificial, but you aren't. She might not need sleep, but you do."

Mira stood up so suddenly that her friends leaned back slightly. "Don't you get it?" she hissed. "If I let up now, we don't stand a chance. I could take a break, and as a result we might all fail the next time she attacks!"

Tom's eyes widened in shock. "Don't you trust us to be able to beat her?"

"No!" Mira was close to yelling now. "And you shouldn't trust me either! If you do, then I could end up being useless to you, just like you all could be useless to me!"

She saw the hurt in their eyes, and noticed how many other students stared at her. She even saw the shocked looks on Jeremie and Aelita's faces across the room, and knew they were wondering how someone who had been so optimistic during her lesson could suddenly become so bitter. Blearily, a part of Mira thought the same thing, but she didn't care.

Next thing she knew, she had stumbled into her room and collapsed on her bed. She had intended to work on Lyoko first thing, but the bed was too tempting.

I'll just rest for a few more minutes, she thought…

She awoke, feeling panicked. The dark seemed all-consuming… Glancing at her clock, she was relieved to find that it was only midnight. There was still plenty of time to work.

Mira was aware that it was probably better to get more sleep; she was nowhere near caught up on it. However, she couldn't afford to be lazy, not now.

At once, Memory Block came up. Mira didn't know where to begin; she didn't know that computer programming for Lyoko would be so full of tedious little adjustments, add-ons, and complications that seemed to arise from out of nowhere. And she still had to find a way to increase the energy level without doing so manually. However, a bigger problem arose.

A window opened by itself: the superscan. Mira sighed; what now? she wondered. The abnormal conduit was in a sector they hadn't visited yet. She checked the screen and saw that it was the cave sector.

She gnashed her teeth. The cave sector was the one she hadn't gotten around to memorizing yet.

Figuring that she might as well make sure that Stella wasn't up to anything big again, she went online to check the latest news updates. As she clicked on the web, though, something strange happened.

She realized first that she couldn't draw her eyes away from the screen. She was visited by a sudden urge to stay online all night and day, just surfing the web and doing nothing else. A small part of her mind screamed at her to get away from the laptop, but the majority of her mind was already hooked. That small part was soon silent.

* * *

Adam's yawn was followed by a moan as his alarm clock buzzed in his ear. He reached over and hit the off button, wishing he could catch a few more z's. Even as he thought it, a picture came into his mind of his Spanish teacher, the short but bad-tempered Mr. Rewas, yelling at him for lateness. Deciding he'd rather not go through that experience, he forced himself to wake up.

After dressing, he headed down to breakfast. Tom and Teralyn were already there, but they didn't seem to want to touch their pancakes. Adam noticed that Mira was missing. He frowned. Obsessed with Lyoko or not, it was unlike Mira to miss any meal.

"Have you seen Mira today?" Teralyn shook her head, silent.

"How about you, Tom?" Tom replied in the same way. Adam rolled his eyes. He knew that Mira was tired, and that had probably been the reason for her outburst.

"I doubt she meant it, you know," he remarked to both of them. Tom slowly raised his head and met his eyes with his own blue eyes.

"I've known Mira for as long as I can remember," he said, sounding dreary. "She never was this… unhappy. I don't understand what's going on with her."

Adam tried to console him. "She's probably never had this kind of responsibility on her shoulders. Maybe if we can get her to play basketball, or come skateboarding with us, she'll start to loosen up a bit."

"Yeah, maybe." Tom started to look more hopeful, though. Teralyn actually smiled. "You know, I bet that she's still sleeping. She might have yelled at us, but I saw her literally stagger over to the dorms. She probably fell asleep right away."

Adam returned the smile. "Then let's go give her a wake-up call. She's in my Spanish class, and I doubt she wants Mr. Rewas on her case." They abandoned their half eaten breakfast, and headed back to the dorms. Adam saw that Mira's door was closed.

He knocked. "Hey, sleeping beauty. Rise and shine." He opened the door, and received a surprise.

Mira sat at her desk, not even typing. She just stared at the screen, with that expression on her face that made her look like she'd be drooling. She made no response as Adam and the others entered the room.

Teralyn marched up behind her, disapproval on her face. "Mira, you're not even doing Lyoko stuff! Why are you online?"

Mira didn't answer. It was almost as if she couldn't hear Teralyn. Teralyn pestered her a bit more, and then made an attempt to pull the laptop away.

Mira actually snarled at Teralyn, and bit her on the arm. "Hey!" Teralyn yelled, letting go of the computer. As soon as she did so, Mira went back to being oblivious.

Adam felt worry begin to gnaw at his insides. He strode up behind Mira and waved his hand in front of her face. Again, she didn't respond. That's when he thought he saw the window open behind the web browser.

Careful not to take the computer from Mira, he clicked on it. It popped up right away, showing an abnormal conduit in the cave sector. Despite the situation, Adam felt a little jump of excitement; they'd be exploring a new sector!

He turned to the others. "There's only one reasonable explanation for this." He nodded at the computer screen, which Mira still stared at.

"Stella's causing this. Somehow, she's made it so that if you go on the Internet, you get addicted to it or something."

Teralyn examined the screen. "Are you sure that it's the Internet? It could just be computers."

"If it is, then it's all the more dangerous," said Tom. "There are so many people who go on computers every day. If that many become addicted, they won't be able to do anything else. Stella could pull anything she wanted, and no one would be able to stop her."

Teralyn nodded. "What's the plan?" she asked.

Adam thought about it for a moment. "I think Tom should virtualize me and you on Lyoko. Then he can head back to school and warn the principal about the situation."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Tom. "What if Stella herself shows up again? Mira and I are the only ones who can fight her on equal grounds."

Adam met Teralyn's eyes for a brief moment, before turning back to Tom. "We'll just have to handle it in any way we can," he said grimly.

Adam noticed Jeremie Belpois sitting with his laptop on the bench as they headed for the park. He also had the blank look on his face, while Della Robbia, Stern, Stones, Ishiyama, Dunbar, and Sissi Delmas all desperately tried to snap him out of it.

The heat from the past few days made the trip through the sewers especially uncomfortable for them. The smell had worsened, but Adam was unable to cover his nose. If he did so, he'd lose his balance.

They arrived at the ladder after a short incident in which Tom almost fell into the disgusting water beside him. Once they swung down into the factory, they were surprised to find it rather cool despite the heat.

After arriving at the computer lab, Tom seated himself in front of the screen while Teralyn and Adam hurried to the scanner room. Adam felt the usual panic filling him up as the doors of the scanner closed behind him, and already had sweat on his forehead. There's nothing to be afraid of, he told himself. Yet he still couldn't get the image of being trapped in the small space out of his head. Moments later, after a muffled, "Virtualization!" came from Tom, his claustrophobia left him.

The world reformed around him, acquiring the unnatural video game look around him. He found himself actually hoping that they'd get some opposition on this mission. He couldn't wait to try out his Reversal ability. Adam shook himself; Mira was in trouble, and he needed to focus.

They didn't pause to admire the scenery of the cave sector; however it still managed to take their breath away as they ran. There were enormous, circular caverns everywhere, some bigger and some smaller than others. Narrow walkways crossed them on different levels, while some caverns were connected to one another by small passages. Even those passages had other passages branching off. The walls, stalactites, and stalagmites were all a crystal blue, and seemed to glow. This glow was the lighting for the sector.

Teralyn led the way. She had a better sense of direction that Adam, and was confident that she knew where they were going. "I got a look at the holomap before we were virtualized," she said to Adam. "The conduit shouldn't be that hard to find. It wasn't far from where Tom sent us."

This proved to be false, however; once they got to the spot, Teralyn became frustrated. The conduit was nowhere in sight, and she paced in front of a wall while they were in one of the smaller caverns. "It was right here," she muttered.

Adam yawned. He was getting bored.

"Hold on," said Tom from the computer. Adam jumped at his voice. "There's some kind of passage you need to find"-

"Tom, I thought you were going to talk to Mr. Delmas," said Adam sharply.

"I was, but then I noticed this- wait a minute, I didn't click on the web browser! NO!"

It took a moment for Adam to realize what he had said. The enormity of is meaning crashed down on him: "Tom! Run for it, get away from the computer, don't look at the screen… Tom?"

Tom didn't answer.

Adam met Teralyn's worried brown eyes. "We have to hurry up and find this passage Tom was talking about," she said.

Adam nodded agreement. He closed his eyes and tried to think, but his thoughts were interrupted by worry for Tom and Mira. The heavy silence of the cave was broken only by Teralyn's light breathing, as well as his own. As he listened, he thought for a moment that he could detect another sound. A faint scratching…

His eyes opened. He looked to the left, to the right, and up, but saw nothing. Then it hit him: the one place he had not looked so far was below them.

He went to the edge, staring down to the bottom of the cavern, where stalagmites made the floor look like a hedgehog. In the side of the platform, beneath them, was a crack. It was just barely large enough for a person to fit through, but Adam thought that it was worth a try. He beckoned Teralyn over, and explained his plan to her. She looked doubtful, but complied.

The end of the whip was slippery; he could hardly hold on as Teralyn lowered him down in front of the crack. Swinging on it, he let the momentum of it carry him towards the crack, which he now saw opened up on the inside.

Adam expected to feel the sense of panic that always came with tight spaces, but his claustrophobia didn't seem to affect him here. He squeezed in and called to Teralyn.

"Jump! I've got this end of the whip." He thought he heard Teralyn murmur, "I'm going to regret this."

Her weight came close to wrenching the whip out of his hand. Backing through the crack, he pulled with all his might, willing himself not to let go. Panting with effort, Teralyn clambered through the hole. She glared at him.

"Honestly, next time think of a better plan!" she snapped, reattaching her whip to her belt once more.

Adam shrugged, unable to keep the grin off his face. "Sorry, didn't have time." Her scowl deepened, which only served to make him grin wider. Inside, however, he felt enormous relief that he hadn't let go of the whip.

The headed into what they had thought was the wall. Adam was astounded by what they found.

It was like a giant arena. There were platforms everywhere, all connected, all leading up to the top platform, on which a conduit rested. It was framed with red. This is it, thought Adam.

Three wolves awaited them, their gray fur illuminated by the glow of the walls. Each was on a different platform, and at a different level. Adam assessed the situation.

"In order to be quick and effective, we need to be fast. We should both run up to the…the structure, but at the last second split and each go a different way up. We'll meet up again at"- he pointed to a spot above the third wolf- "that platform."

If Teralyn was surprised by his sudden planning, she didn't show it. "I call two out of three," she said.

Adam blinked, then shrugged and said, "Fine. I'll take the middle one."

They started at a jog, but soon started to accelerate until they both sprinted to the tangle of paths. As they neared it, the wolves growled expectantly, but soon stopped in confusion; Adam pulled off to the left, while Teralyn drove toward them from the right.

He didn't even bother to run up the path. The adrenaline rushed through him, and he leapt straight onto the platform, landing an energy blade on the wolf's head. It sparked, indicating life points lost.

I hit one of his vitals, Adam thought. It won't be long now. As he came down from his jump, he did a midair kick, sending a second energy blade into the wolf's back. It pixilated before his very eyes.

He didn't waste time, instantly beginning to climb from platform to platform, aiming for the meeting point. As he arrived, he saw that Teralyn was already there. He frowned at her. "How did you do that?"

Teralyn didn't hesitate to explain. "Well, if I wrap my whip around their necks…"

"Yeah, yeah, I get the picture." He wished that he hadn't, as it was not a pleasant one.

They were nearing the top, when another howl sounded behind them. Adam turned around, to see four more wolves heading for them. Wondering why Teralyn hadn't turned around with him, he glanced and saw why.

Teralyn held her lightwhip at the ready, eyes narrowed. Before her, Stella was materializing, before falling to the ground without even a thud. Her smile was not a kind one, and it made the hairs on his neck prickle.

He looked for another way up, but it soon became clear that they were trapped. There was only one way out of it.

They had to fight.

* * *

Jean-Pierre Delmas strode into his office, massaging his temples. The day seemed twice as long. Students were behaving strangely; it was as if they were glued to their computers. At first it had been one or two, but now it seemed that half the school was addicted. He knew that if one thing could help to relieve his stress, it was his penguin computer game. Despite the fact that he almost never won it, he still found that he enjoyed playing it.

After narrowly missing by a thread, the internet browser suddenly popped up. He frowned slightly.

"What is this?"

Suddenly, he found himself almost magnetically attracted to the computer, before his mind went blank.

Jim entered the office, panting. "Mr. Delmas sir, Anderson's here, but her friends Vohn, Polanka, and Saratra are missing. Mira has the same condition as"-

He stopped abruptly, noticing the principal. His eyes widened.

"What's going on here?"

* * *

Teralyn knew that she didn't stand much chance against Stella. Her lightwhip was hard to block, but it was also difficult for her to block with it. Now she understood what the thick pads on her wrists were for, but Stella's strength could still give her an injury.

An idea popped into her head. She deactivated her lightwhip, reattaching it to her waist. Stella raised an eyebrow. Teralyn felt uncomfortable as she noticed that the look was very similar to Mira's own famous eyebrow look.

Comprehension dawned on Stella's face, and she shouted, "NO!"

"Time stop!" Teralyn yelled.

Instantly the noise of the wolves ceased. Everything froze, the world turning black and white around her. Stella's mouth was still open, her eyes burning in fury.

Teralyn reactivated her lightwhip, and lashed out at Stella with it. Once, twice, thrice, and suddenly Stella pixilated away. Teralyn smiled triumphantly, but soon felt her legs shake slightly. She was getting weaker.

Desperate, she began shouting. "Restart! Uh… continue, time start!"

The pain began. A small prickling began in her toes, then continued up her legs until her entire body ached, and she had the sensation of a million spiders crawling over her. Teralyn screamed in frustration; she hated spiders, and her lifepoints were steadily counting down.

"Continuity!" she cried. At once, colored returned to the world, and the noise came back- just as her lifepoints hit zero.

At first the wolves were in disarray without their mistress, but they soon regrouped. Two leapt for Adam, claws outstretched.

"No…" Teralyn murmured. Next thing she knew, she was gasping for breath in the scanner room.

* * *

Adam watched in shock as the wolves threw themselves at him. He became aware that no one was behind him, and backflipped, but not before one of their claws hit his leg.

He winced, feeling the drop in his lifepoints.

The world righted itself once more, and he landed slightly off balance, just as the other two wolves jumped for him.

Without even pausing to think about it, he shouted, "Reversal!"

Time seemed to slow down, as the lead wolf was about to reach him. He didn't know how many lifepoints he had left…

It yelped, suddenly crashing to the ground before him. The other mimicked the move, and they both had claw marks on their foreheads. The two creatures whimpered as they disappeared.

The realization of his power washed over him. He smirked, turning to the other two wolves. He beckoned.

"Bring it on, furballs."

For the first time, the wolves hesitated to attack him. Adam didn't give them time to change their minds. He leapt above them, making sweeping motions with both of his arms. Two energy crescents flew at the wolves, and they were instantly destroyed.

Adam grinned. "This is like being a ninja," he remarked, before heading to the conduit.

He paused, uncertain. He wasn't sure how Teralyn and Mira had lowered the energy level. Nonetheless, he stepped inside.

* * *

Teralyn ran into the computer lab, seeing that Tom slouched before the monitor. His face was slackened, and no expression came onto it.

"Tom!" she said, shaking him desperately. "Please, Tom, please wake up!"

* * *

Adam pressed his hand against the panel. _Adam_ popped up on the screen.

"Yeah, I know that already," he muttered. The bar graph appeared, and he lowered the bright red one to be level with the others.

"Energy level normalized."

* * *

Mira yelled in panic and pushed herself away from her laptop, harder than she had meant to. Her swivel chair fell backward, and she was sprawled on the floor.

Feeling slightly sore as the white light obscured everything, she moaned, "Return to the past, now."

* * *

Adam noticed Mira striding across the courtyard, but didn't say anything. He sighed; she looked just as tired as the last time she had walked past their game.

Feeling almost bored, he watched as Teralyn dodged Gary and took the shot. She made it in easily; but then, Teralyn always did.

Tom yawned. Internet addiction, he claimed, had made him exhausted. "Hey, let's get some dinner, huh guys?"

"Agreed. Oh, and that's 20 to zero, Gary," Teralyn added. Gary fumed.

"Just wait until the intramural tournament starts," he hissed.

"Oh, believe me, I can't wait," Teralyn replied, grinning at him fiendishly.

As they headed for the lunchroom, Adam asked, "Four person teams then, right?"

She nodded.

"That should be perfect for us," Tom commented. He shook his brown hair out of his eyes.

"We'll have to see what Mira says, though," Teralyn murmured, apprenhension returning to her face.

They sat where they always sat, in the corner. Mira was already there, eating much the same as before.

Adam sat across from Mira this time, watching her carefully. She seemed much more cheerful than before, joining in Tom and Teralyn's argument about which was more fun to watch: basketball or soccer. He stayed out of it, wondering if Mira would consent to actually get some sleep.

Just when he wondered if she was going to hide her exhaustion once again, she yawned. "Right, I think I'll be going to take a nap about now. A very long one." She stood, her short, black curly hair swishing.

Adam got up with her. "Mind if I come with you?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I don't mind."

On the way back to the dorm, they walked mostly in silence. He side glanced at her, noticing that her normally vibrant emerald eyes were dull, the usual spark in them gone. She really needs to get some rest, he thought.

They arrived at her room. She turned to him. "Thanks for walking me back, Adam. And…" she paused. "Thanks for bringing me back. You know, Tom told me that you faced four wolves on your own."

He shuffled his feet a bit, feeling humbled for the first time in his life. "Well… I was only able to because of that reversal power you told me about."

Mira looked thoughtful. "I think it was more than that, somehow." Her mouth opened in another yawn. "Better get some sleep, I guess."

"Yeah…" he winked at her. "Sweet dreams."

She smiled at him- that small, but meaningful smile she always gave.

"Thanks, Adam."


	6. Chapter 6: Masquerade

Isis sat in the library, Jim being her study hall supervisor. She was aware that she was supposed to be studying, but she loved the book so much. How could she not read it?

She flipped it closed to admire the old and faded cover that she had looked at a hundred times. She had read Lolo a million times, and knew the book by heart. Yet she never grew tired of it.

She glanced around furtively. Most others in her grade were concentrating on homework, or whispering advice to one another on a complicated algebra problem. She looked the other way, noticing that Tom Saratra sat alone, engrossed in history homework.

She was slightly surprised by this. On a normal day, Mira Anderson, Adam Polanka, and Teralyn Vohn surrounded him. Today, however, that did not seem to be the case.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed over her. She instantly had a bitter taste in her mouth, and panic filled her. There was only one person who had _that_ big of a shadow.

A hairy hand snatched her book away from her. Isis froze. No! she thought. With Jim, who knew when she'd get it back- if she got it back at all?

She wheeled around in her wooden chair, staring up to see Jim smirking at her. He waved the old book in her face.

"Now now, Isis, why is this class called 'study hall'?" he asked. He puffed out his chest like a peacock. "Because it's for studying! Not reading some book of yours!"

Isis felt tears coming to her face. She remembered her father giving her the book, telling her to treasure it- just days before he had died in a sudden hit and run accident.

"P-please Jim," she sobbed. "C-could you give me back that book? My father gave it to me, and he's d-dead now!" The tears flowed freshly. "It's all I have left of him…"

Jim frowned, completely oblivious to the fact that he was really upsetting her. Several students had stopped working and turned to watch, wondering what all the noise was about. Noticing this, Jim straightened. His self-important look returned to his face.

"Absolutely not, young lady!" he crowed. "Here at Kadic, we have rules. No, not another word from you!" he added, as Isis opened her mouth to speak. "Or it's the principal you'll see next."

Isis gasped, looking up at Jim, who held her book tightly. She clenched her fists, wanting to take a swing at him, but lost her nerve and promptly ran out of the library, still crying.

Jim stared down the rest of the students. "I want to see everyone here doing something school related!" he barked. The remaining eighth graders flinched, casting their eyes down. Only one person kept his head up: Tom, who was staring after Isis, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Isis ran all the way to her dormitory, ignoring anyone she ran into. She vaguely heard her own friend, Gina, ask her what was up as she passed her in the hallway, but she didn't stop to talk.

Arriving at her room, which she shared with Gina, she threw herself down on her bed, crying into her pillow. The smell of the pillow case comforted her a bit, but she still felt as though she had lost a good friend.

Gina arrived moments later, staring at Isis with concern. She sat next to her friend and tried to reassure her, but it did no good. Isis was feeling the pain of losing her father all over again, as memories of that horrible day cut through her. She saw her five year old self stumbling around in the backyard, calling out for daddy.

Except he never came.

Gina put her arm around Isis. "Hey, at least you haven't forgotten him right?"

Isis sniffled a bit, and looked up. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you've still got all your good memories of him, so he's still inside your heart. He's always there for you, Isis, even if you don't see him."

Isis's face broke into a small smile. "Thanks, Gina. I need to learn to grow up someday."

A soft knock came from the door.

Gina frowned in confusion. "Who could that be?" she murmured. She pushed herself off the bed over to the door, Isis following her. They exchanged a glance, wondering.

Gina opened the door- and stifled a scream. The person wore black pants and a black hoodie, with the hood drawn up. However, the thing that freaked them both out was the grinning mask the person wore. Isis took several breaths to calm herself down, and was about to accuse whoever it was of playing such a horrible trick on her, when she noticed something.

In their hands, the mystery person held out her book, Lolo.

They handed it to Isis before she could say anything, and then headed down the hall at a walk, vanishing around a corner.

The two girls stared after the person in wonder, then erupted into conversation.

* * *

Mira groaned. "Guys, now's really not the time."

"Why not?" came Adam's voice from the headset. "It's not like we have anything better to do! I wonder why Tom decided to stay in study hall… I doubt I could stand being back there."

Adam and Teralyn had gone to Lyoko, since Stella had been quiet lately. They were on a reconnaissance mission in the forest sector, in order to learn where the most helpful landmarks were. Tom had gotten lucky that he virtualized them so close to the forest sector last time. Currently, they were trying to get Mira to allow them to have a tree climbing contest, after they had an argument about who was better at it.

Her thoughts wandered to the events that had occurred after the last return trip. Adam had asked to walk her back to her dorm… she'd been too tired to think about it at the time, but now she wondered: what exactly had that been about? He had looked worried for her at the time, and it was unusual for him to worry.

As she recalled his words, she felt her ears burn slightly. She was torn out of her thoughts by Teralyn's voice.

"Earth to Mira! Where do you want us to go next?"

"Umm… I think that's enough for today, guys. You've been there for almost an hour, and someone's bound to miss us." She smiled slightly, as her memory block program came back up, a positive sign popping up in front of it.

"Yes!" she hissed. After working on it for what had seemed like ages, spending countless nights in the dark and holding her breath every time Jim had walked by, she was finally putting the finishing touches on her program.

She went back to Adam and Teralyn's profiles. "Okay, I'm bringing you in. Materialization, Adam! Materialization, Teralyn!" Minutes later, the door to the lab opened for the two, who headed over to where she sat, the enormous holomap of Lyoko suspended in the center of the room. Before, the hologram used to instill awe in them; now, it simply became a part of their routine. Mira felt slightly disturbed by how they were getting used to their new life fighting Stella so quickly.

Teralyn stared at the screen. "Is that…" she began.

Mira grinned at her. "Indeed it is. My Memory Block is almost complete. Just a few minor adjustments to make, and I'm good to go on this one."

Adam looked thoughtful. "So, how come you suddenly figured out how to make it work?" he asked.

"Well, it hit me one day that make I was taking the wrong approach to things. I figured out that maybe I didn't need to raise the energy level to do it, so I focused on Lyoko profiles instead. That was the key; it's actually quite a simple thing to remove the immunity of the return trips from the profile. So I set the program to do just that, though I'm afraid it may have some side effects. Do you follow me?"

They simply gaped at her, which was answer enough.

After getting back to school, Mira discovered that she needn't have worried. The entire school was buzzing with gossip, but Mira couldn't figure out what it was about. She spotted Tom trudging toward them, hands in pockets. She waved, motioning to where they sat beneath the oak tree.

"Hey, Tom," Teralyn asked. "What's going on?"

Tom shrugged. "Some mystery person wearing a mask has been going around doing all these people favors. Little things; I heard that he first helped out Isis by giving back her favorite book after Jim confiscated it."

Adam looked puzzled. "Does anyone know who the mystery person is?"

Tom shook his head. "No one does; they never show their face, it seems. It's gotta be a student, though; from what I've heard, that person's not all that tall."

"Hope it's not Stella causing trouble," Mira murmured. She opened her laptop (she carried it around with her everywhere, in case they needed to make an emergency trip to Lyoko), and checked the superscan. It had picked up nothing; there were no abnormal conduits anywhere.

She shrugged, and closed it again. However, when she thought about it for a moment, she reopened it. In a lucky stroke that day, she had been given no homework. She might as well take advantage of the situation.

Since she was almost finished with Memory Block, she had begun designing two new programs. One that would hopefully not take her too long was her Rocket Boot program, which she hoped to equip to each of their profiles when she finished. It would allow them to fly anywhere they needed to in any of sectors, and get to the conduits a lot more easily. Her other program… she wasn't sure what it was for, exactly; so far, all she had done was trace Stella's Lyoko profile. XANA's words echoed in her mind for the millionth time, but they still did not light up an idea in her mind.

"Uhh… Mira?"

Mira looked up from her work, surprised to see Jeremie in front of her. The tenth grader was rubbing the back of his neck, looking sheepish.

"Hello, Jeremie. What's up?"

He looked embarrassed. "Sorry, but I have to cancel your lesson for today. Aelita and I are, um…"

Mira's face broke into a broad grin. "Nah, it's fine."

"Okay, thanks." He ran off before she could add any more. She smirked after him. Well, she thought, it's about time…

Aelita and Jeremie's relationship was one of the gossip legends, which people never seemed to stop talking about. Its popularity rivaled with that of the Yumi-Ulrich-William love triangle, although William had virtually given up on it; it was known by now the Yumi and Ulrich were dating, but the word was that they still argued.

Mira wondered if anyone would ever be gossiping about her, but brushed the thought aside. Here she was, fighting a dangerous enemy, and all the while wondering about her future in the gossip world.

* * *

Jim groaned. He was sure that he was getting a headache. What with the sudden appearance of the masked person who helped students, he felt like the world was determined to keep him on his toes. The mystery student had broken almost twenty rules in one day, going out of his or her way to help other students.

He was beginning to regret taking Lolo from Isis. He didn't know why, but he had a funny feeling that that was what had started the trouble.

He headed back to his room. The principal had told him to not worry about it for the moment, although he wasn't sure whether Mr. Delmas was being serious, or whether he didn't understand the seriousness of the situation. They needed to maintain discipline among the students.

A sudden noise made him freeze. He glanced behind him, but the hallway was deserted. Not a soul in sight, he thought, reminding him of the time he was a security guard once… but he decided he'd rather not think about that.

He continued walking when he heard the sound again: a slight scratching noise that he could just barely hear along with his own footsteps. He glanced behind him again, and saw nothing, glanced up and glimpsed the grinning mask before pain exploded in his forehead, soon numbed by darkness.

* * *

Mira sighed as the superscan popped up on the screen, indicating a conduit in yet another new sector: the space sector. She was intrigued by this. She had no clue how the sector would end up being like, and was curious to see it.

Just then, screams echoed from the dorms. Mira and the others looked up to see students fleeing the dorm area, pursued by someone clad in black. They turned and spotted Mira, giving her the sight of the white, smiling mask before they began running towards them. There was no doubt in her mind now.

"Factory, now!" she hissed, but Adam didn't budge.

"Are you crazy?" she asked him, gawking. "If that thing is Stella, or is controlled by her, it could tear you apart!"

He scowled at her. "We'll never make it to the factory with it on our tail! Go on, I'll hold it off."

Mira almost demanded to stay with him, but caught herself; Teralyn and Tom were looking at her expectantly, and she nodded. "All right. Good luck."

"Let's hope I don't need it," he replied, giving her a brief grin.

The three of them sprinted as fast as they could go for the manhole cover. Mira winced when she heard the thing shriek, followed by a yell from Adam.

They skateboarded faster than she thought was possible, but urgency flowed through her. They had to get to Lyoko. The masked beast could wreak all kinds of havoc at the school- it probably already had. And the first thing it'll do once it's finished there, she thought, is come after us.

She was relieved to have looked over the map of the space sector the previous evening. Its layout was complicated, but she was sure they could manage. After setting up a delayed virtualization, the three of them climbed into scanners. She whirled in the light and wind, before a world of half darkness appeared before them.

Everything in the space sector floated- except, of course, them. Solid spheres rotated slowly, jagged rocks were lined up to form the sector's pathways, and they were surrounded on all sides by stars and blackness. Debris was everywhere; some flying at harmful speeds, others floating along gently. The temperature was neither warm, like in the forest sector, nor cold, like in the reef and cave sectors. It was the perfect balance of the two.

She led them, leaping from rock to rock, careful not to fall to the stars below. She didn't want to know what would happen if they did.

A sudden projectile came close to Tom's ear, throwing him off balance for just a moment. Teralyn and Mira's panicked yells couldn't stop him, though, from falling off the edge, falling to the vastness of space…

"No!" shouted Teralyn, twisting in anger to spot the culprit.

Two long, thin bright green lizards perched atop a nearby planet, hissing with amusement. Attached to each of their wrists were small devices, which, Mira guessed, were made to shoot whatever had almost hit Tom.

They shrieked inhumanely, and then leapt down onto the path in front of them. Teralyn ignited her lightwhip and lashed out, striking the foremost one on the nose. It aimed and fired another dart, which Teralyn managed to hit out of the air. The second made another giant leap, landing directly behind Mira. She whirled, just in time to block another dart with her sword.

It hit the blade, and something strange happened. Her sword began to vibrate, thrumming with power. Mira could barely hold it properly, and was forced to dodge the next two darts. She could feel the weapon waiting, as if for her command. Nervously, she pointed it at the lizard, and released the buildup of energy.

A pillar of pure green light shot forward, hitting the lizard in the neck, and severing the head from the shoulders just before the monster disappeared. It illuminated the dark landscape, bathing everything the same emerald as the jewel at the end of her weapon. Mira noticed her sword stopped vibrating after the release of energy.

She heard a shout of "Time Stop!" behind her; a split second later, Teralyn was standing where the lizard had just been. She was breathing heavily, her face a mask of rage. Mira felt as angry as Teralyn looked; how could Tom, just be… gone?

She and Teralyn exchanged a look, their eyes full of despair. Mira felt a sinking feeling in her stomach, and she heard Teralyn wretch, followed by a sob. A sudden thump caught her attention.

She turned around, sword raised to block another blow, and was shocked to see- looking shaken but otherwise okay- Tom.

"Tom!" Teralyn yelled, bounding over and throwing her arms around him. Mira watched, amused, as both their faces turned slightly pink. Teralyn quickly stepped back, now glaring daggers at him.

"Don't you _ever_," she hissed, putting emphasis on the word, "Ever scare me like that again! What happened?"

Tom shrugged. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "One moment I was falling away from you guys, next thing I know I'm falling toward you. Nice job finishing the lizards, by the way," he added.

Mira looked thoughtful. "I wonder if this place takes into account the theory that if you keep going in one direction in space, you eventually end back up where you started."

Both Teralyn and Tom stared at her. "Where'd you hear that one?" Tom asked.

"My dad."

Both her friends rolled their eyes. "Honestly, you can be a bit of a nerd sometimes, Mira," said Teralyn, while Tom chuckled.

* * *

His breath was driven from him as the masked beast punched him in the stomach. He hit the wall with an "Ooof!" and before he could slide back down, the thing grabbed him by the neck and threw him back out into the courtyard.

Adam scrambled to his feet, flinging himself out of the way of a kick. He felt slightly sick, but didn't allow himself to give up. He thought of protecting his friends, and that gave him enough strength for him to start an idea.

Mustering any energy he had left, he ran for the oak tree. He couldn't hear the footsteps of the thing, but he didn't have time to think about that. He just kept running, every muscle burning with exertion. He didn't slow as he got to the tree, and running up it for a moment, placing both feet on the trunk, he pushed himself backwards, sailing through the air above the masked phantom.

It turned to look at him and, like a striking snake, grabbed his ankle while he was still in midair. His eyes widened. No way! he thought, and then cried out in fresh pain as it easily snapped his ankle, breaking it like a twig. Adam crashed to the ground, blackness swimming before him, and caught a glimpse of the figure sprinting for the park. A weak moan of protest emanated from him, but he was unable to stand with his ankle broken and useless.

"Mira, watch out!" he whispered, knowing that she couldn't hear him.

* * *

Tom peeked out from behind their hideout- which was just a large pile of meteorites on one of the planets. The three of them stared down at the conduit beneath them, surrounded by quite a cavalry: two wolves, one lizard, and one artificial human.

He noticed her eyes flicker up toward their shelter, making him instinctively duck down. He glanced over at Mira and Teralyn, who were both whispering to one another.

"Hey!" he muttered. They both blinked and turned their attention toward him. He jerked his head in the direction of the conduit. "I think she knows we're here," he said. "We should probably attack now, while we have time."

"Agreed," Mira murmured. She explained her plan to them, and while Tom had no objections, Teralyn crossed her arms. "Do I have to? I don't really want to go through what happened last time."

"Would you rather Stella stabbed you?" asked Mira. Moments later, Teralyn was circling around to where the wolves and lizard were grouped. Tom met Mira's eyes. "Stay behind me," she said. "Don't go for it until I clear you."

He nodded, and whispered back, "Be careful; I was barely a match for her."

Just then, Teralyn dove from another nearby planet. "Yoohoo!" she shouted, plunging toward the wolves. Just as she was about to reach them, her mouth moved again, though Tom couldn't hear what came out of it. A moment later, Teralyn, the wolves, and the lizard had vanished. Tom felt a twinge of worry, but was forced to concentrate and he and Mira jumped down towards Stella. He threw himself to the side, as Mira and Stella clashed.

He backed away from the fight, watching in awe. Mira was actually equal to Stella, matching her blow for blow. Their swords rang as they attempted to wound one another, black fighting white. However, Stella suddenly turned the tables by feinting towards Mira's middle, and then landing a kick straight to the face. Mira staggered backward, unable to block fast enough as Stella's sword came down.

Instead, she shouted, "Flash Dodge!"

Tom heard a strange zing sound, and suddenly Mira was behind Stella. She twisted her foe's arm behind her back, and yelled at Tom to go.

Tom ran for the conduit, feeling Stella's furious yellow eyes burning him. However, a moment later he was behind the protective shield, surrounded by three monitors.

* * *

Teralyn had climbed out of the scanner, feeling queasy. She swore to get Mira for making her sacrifice her lifepoints to get rid of those creatures. She had to admit, though, that seeing the look on their faces while she froze time was satisfying.

Breathing heavily, she plopped down on the floor for a moment, calming herself down after the fight. Lyoko always made her blood rush through its veins. The excitement of it all made her giddy.

The sound of the elevator doors opening behind her made her hopeful- perhaps Adam had escaped the masked beast. As she turned around, though, all she could see was the black-gloved hand and grinning face, before she began to choke.

* * *

Tom placed his hand on the panel, ready to lower the red bar.

* * *

Teralyn started to see stars. The grinning face was inches from her, and she thought she could hear laughter through the process of her suffocation…

* * *

The bar obeyed his touch, leveling out with the others. "Energy level normalized," he said.

* * *

Teralyn gulped in oxygen as the monster that had been before her collapsed into a heap of black clothing. The mask landed on top, before the return trip's light wiped the grin off its face.

She found herself back in her room, sitting in front of her English homework. She groaned. "I already finished this…"

A knock on the door distracted her. She stood up, and stretched her muscles. They were still sore from the fight on Lyoko.

She let out a scream when she opened the door. The sight of the grinning mask filled her with fear, as the sensation of choking revisited her…

However, it didn't attack. It simply entered her room, grabbed a piece of paper, and wrote. Frowning, she read it.

_I've already told the others. Can you keep a secret?_

A slow smile etched its way onto her face. She hugged the person tightly, before pulling back. She winked at him.

"Sure thing, Tom. Oh, and by the way… I think a good name would be Masquerade."

She winked at him and left the room. The figure stood, still frozen by the unexpected hug, before pulling off its mask to reveal bright blue eyes and brown hair.

Tom smiled slightly, before punching the air. "Score," he whispered. He then replaced his mask before he, too, made his exit.


	7. Chapter 7: Three Blind Mice

It was as if some giant animal was breathing in her face; the inferno raged before her as she tottered on the edge, staring into the lava pit. She felt herself falling, and closed her eyes, bracing to feel the scorching heat…

A hand grabbed hers, halting her fall, and pulled her back up onto solid ground. Her eyes snapped back open, and she cast a grateful glance at Teralyn.

Teralyn was panting. "Don't… mention it." She quickly recovered, performing her usual don't-do-that-again glare.

Mira pouted. "Hey, it wasn't my fault! If that dumb scorpion hadn't taken a swipe at me…"

Teralyn rolled her eyes. Mira wondered if she had picked the best time to explore the final sector, the lava sector. Everyone was a bit edgy after the last attack, especially Teralyn. She seemed a bit freaked out by the masked beast choking her, while Adam and Tom were annoyed by not being able to sleep in late on a Saturday.

"I need my beauty sleep!" Adam had protested, when Mira pounded on his door at seven in the morning. However, he had agreed to come anyway, once he heard that they'd be visiting a new sector. Once being virtualized, however, they found the heat slightly overwhelming.

She sighed. At least the trip had not been completely boring, as they had run into a new breed of monsters; no doubt Stella wasn't too eager for them to get to know this sector. They had been giant red scorpions, with stingers that were surprisingly quick, and claws that were fatal once they got a hold of you. Mira sheathed her black sword, but felt uneasy without its comforting weight her hand.

Tom was still recovering, as well as Adam. The two of them and Mira had been hit by the stingers, but Mira and Teralyn had had more life points at the beginning of the battle; Tom and Adam had been cornered by a couple of wolves earlier.

The sector itself was simply a system of small volcanoes. There were many chambers within it, and rivers of lava ran everywhere. Mira didn't need to analyze the sector to know that to fall in meant instant devirtualization.

She was almost certain that this was the sector that had replaced Carthage, back in what the group now referred to as Lyoko1. Therefore, both the core and the interface of Lyoko had to be around somewhere. It was her hope that they would be able to find information on Stella.

She looked around for the landmark she had noticed while studying the map of the sector: the main river. Large rocks floated in it, slowly oozing toward the lower part of the sector, and the only way to get upstream was by hopping from stone to stone. Mira suspected that both the interface and the core were located there.

Tom and Adam seemed back to normal, and the four of them ran out of the cave they had been fighting in. The enormous river stood before them, gurgling with magma. Mira knew that this would be a challenge, since every five minutes an enormous wave swept up everything in its path.

"Let's go!" she shouted, and leapt onto the first rock. She tried to go as quickly as she could without losing her footing, but even so it was slow. The stones didn't supply the best support, and several times she nearly lost her footing. Based on the cries of alarm behind her, the others weren't doing much better. She paused for a moment, turning about to assess the situation. Only Adam seemed comfortable, practically bouncing from stone to stone, until he landed on the same one as Mira.

The sudden rocking nearly made her lose her balance, but Adam reached out and deftly caught her arm. He gave her a wink that made her stomach flip slightly, before stating, "Maybe I should take the lead."

She stared after him, her mind blank.

"Umm… is Mira in there?" said Tom. He and Teralyn had both caught up by now.

She shook herself. Focus! she thought. She once again began leaping over the river, jealous of Adam's ability to traverse it so easily. They continued on up for a while, but it seemed as though the top wasn't getting any closer. The going gradually became easier; Mira soon found a rhythm to the task, and realized that the best thing to do was just not think about falling. Teralyn and Tom hadn't yet caught on, and they soon fell behind. She was catching up to Adam.

Her sandals hit the next stone, when it started; a rumbling, low at first, but it soon became a roar as she saw, far ahead, a bright orange mound racing towards them.

"Get back to the banks!" she shouted. The others turned toward her for a moment, before beginning to scramble back toward the side. Mira's ears filled with the sound of the wave, the thick mess bearing down upon them. She increased her speed, barely pausing when landing before taking off again. The bank was so close, but so was the wave. She watched, feeling helpless as the inferno swallowed Adam. His mouth opened in surprise as the lava was suspended over him for a moment, and then it covered him.

Mira turned away, bracing herself for the impact. She was burning for a moment, screaming with the tortuous pain as the wave hit her like a truck. Then it was over, and blackness covered her eyes.

She frowned for a moment. A devirtualization shouldn't cause her to be knocked unconscious… then she heard the sound of the other two scanners whirring, followed by the doors opening.

"Hey, did someone turn out the lights?" asked Tom. She could hear him stumbling about in the dark, before an "ooof!" told her that he had collided with Adam.

She didn't get it. "I don't know why the lights aren't working. We'll have daylight once we get upstairs, though." She reached out in front of her, careful not to trip on the edge of the scanner.

Teralyn's voice froze her in her tracks. "Umm… guys, what are you talking about? The lights are fine, and you're all blundering around like a bunch of…" her voice trailed off, then returned, sounding sickened. "…blind people."

The realization crashed down on Mira. She shook her head, denying it instantly. It was impossible; this was a nightmare, she would wake up with her sight again soon. They couldn't be blind.

Adam groaned. "What's with this?" he said. "I'm not _that_ old!"

Mira tried her best to stay calm, and assess the situation. "It's clear that something went wrong while we were on Lyoko. Either that or Stella's attacking; what I don't get is why Teralyn wasn't affected, like the rest of us."

Tom sounded even calmer than her. "We need to face the immediate problem: how are we going to get through school if we can't see?"

"Thank god it's Saturday," muttered Adam.

Teralyn sighed. "I'll have to look after you guys," she said, sounding resigned. "You should all stay in my room most of the day, and I'll see if I can get you some food. In the meantime, you can brainstorm as to why you've suddenly gone blind."

She guided the three of them over to the elevator, being surprisingly patient. Mira had to admit it: Teralyn could be almost motherly in certain situations. They were forced to take the long way back to Kadic. Despite the fact that all Mira saw was blackness, she could feel the stares of curious townspeople burning her. She couldn't imagine what people would think of a teenage girl leading four other teens, but she had a feeling that they weren't exactly inconspicuous.

She hated it all. Hated how unsteady she was on her feet, how hesitant she had to be with her steps. It was like traversing the river all over again, but this time she had no clue what she was doing. Mira realized that this was the first time she was putting her complete trust in someone. She had trusted people before, but not like this; this time she was completely at Teralyn's mercy.

"Well, well, well. A group showing brotherly love; you're even holding hands."

Mira scowled. She could easily recognize that voice, the voice that had given them trouble ever since she had arrived at Kadic.

"Go put a sock in it, Gary," snarled Adam.

"Oh, aren't we in a bad mood?" said Gary; Mira could easily picture the sneer on his face. He had caught them off guard, and was doing his usual job of giving them a hard time. He laughed, stopping abruptly before hissing, "Mark my words, Vohn; intramural basketball sign-ups are soon, and then we'll see who the master of the game is."

"Can't wait," said Teralyn coolly. "Are you sure you want to sign up, Gary? I'd hate to see you humiliate yourself in front of the _entire_ school."

Mira, Tom, and Adam cracked up at that; it was always good to see Gary humbled once in a while.

"Dumbos!" he muttered, before his footsteps told Mira he was heading for… where?

"Hey, Teralyn, where are we?" she asked.

"The school courtyard. Come on; dorms are this way," she replied, pulling them off to the right.

After almost tripping over the stairs, walking into a wall once or twice, and coming close to bumping into a grumbling Jim (who, thankfully, just glanced at them and kept walking), they arrived at Teralyn's room. Mira felt Teralyn grab her shoulders and sit her down on the bed, while two thumps told her that Adam and Tom had been seated similarly. She fidgeted with the zipper of her jacket, which she knew was a light blue. She wished with all her might that she could actually see the blue.

Teralyn's voice came from her right. "I'm going to head out, and see if I can't get some food for you," she said. "Just sit tight for a while. Try not to blunder around and knock anything over."

"We're not that clumsy!" Tom protested.

"Yeah, you weren't… when you could see." With that, Mira heard a click that indicated the closing of the door, as Teralyn left them in the dark.

* * *

It was only midday, but Teralyn already felt completely exhausted, as though she had been playing a basketball tournament all morning. Lyoko life was demanding, but now that she thought about it, she couldn't imagine a life without it.

The cafeteria wasn't crowded; most of the older students spent their Saturdays wandering around the town and hanging out. She was relieved that they didn't have class that day; she couldn't imagine having to deal with their blindness while the teachers gave notes.

The lunch was just sandwiches, which were perfect for what Teralyn needed. She grabbed a tray and scooted through the lunch line, grabbing snacks here and there. When she arrived at where the main dish was, she looked up at Rosa imploringly.

"Mind if I get an extra today?" she asked, allowing her exhaustion to show. Right on cue, her stomach gave a low rumble. "Please, Rosa, I've been playing basketball all morning…"

Rosa sighed, looking resigned. "Oh, all right then. Honestly, Teralyn, sometimes you're worse than Odd Della Robbia."

Teralyn grinned. "Yeah, except I actually work to get this hungry; he sits around and somehow empties his stomach in five minutes."

Rosa returned the grin, and moments later Teralyn had a sufficient amount of food to feed the three waiting in her room. Now, the tricky part came: how to get it up there, without getting caught… specifically by Jim.

Her eyes darted around, looking for a solution. There weren't any brown paper bags instantly available, but…

She sighed, and grabbed a bunch of napkins. It was the best she could do, at that point; Mira was the idea girl, not her.

She made a makeshift sack, and glanced around the lunchroom. No one was paying her any attention, and she slipped out with ease. Breathing a sigh of relief, she jogged across the courtyard, heading for the dorms as quickly as she could. Just when she was going to make it, however, she collided headlong with a huge red sweater. Or rather, Jim.

"Vohn!" he barked, frowning with suspicion. He pointed at her bundle. "What's in there, and what're you doing with it?"

Teralyn fumbled for an excuse. "Umm… it's a… dead animal, Jim."

His frown deepened, but he did take a step back. "Oh, and uh… what were you going to do with the dead animal?"

"Mrs. Hertz told me to dispose of it, and well, you know Mrs. Hertz. She gets mad if you don't do what she wants you to."

Jim looked thoughtful at that. "Indeed I do know, but I'd _really_ rather not talk about it."

"I'll bet," muttered Teralyn under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, sir."

He seemed almost mollified that she'd called him 'sir'. He coughed lightly and cast a slightly disgusted look at the bundle. "Well, then, I suppose you'd better take care of that."

"Don't worry, I will," she assured him. _That_ was not a lie.

He waved her away, before heading over to the track. Teralyn watched him go, shaking her head. Jim could be unusual at times.

Upon returning to her room, she found Mira, Adam, and Tom where she had left them: sitting on the bed, staring into space- but then, she reflected, there really wasn't much else they could do without their sight.

"Lunchtime," she announced, causing them to jump simultaneously. They turned to her- or what they thought was her. Adam stared a little to her left, Tom was 'looking' at her shoes. Only Mira seemed to be looking directly at her, but her eyes were blank and unfocused.

She distributed the sandwiches first, placing them in each of their laps. They began to eat in silence, and despite the fact that Mira hated turkey, she didn't complain. Teralyn told them that the snacks were on the desk, which Adam carefully made his way over to after finishing his sandwich. He grabbed a bag of chips, and returned to his seat.

"So," Teralyn said, uncomfortable with the quietness, "Any ideas as to why I'm not in the dark with you?" She tried to make the conversation light, but the three didn't react. They simply shook their heads, still not uttering a sound.

Teralyn began to feel slightly irritated with them. "Okay guys," she snapped, hands on hips, "Just because you can't see doesn't mean you have to be so doom-and-gloom. For pete's sake, at least say something!"

Quietly, Mira answered, "What if there's nothing to say?"

Teralyn groaned, and slapped her hand to her forehead, sliding it down her face until her chin rested upon it. She thought that, maybe, they were being more than a bit ridiculous- but then, she wasn't the blind one. She inhaled slowly to calm herself before speaking.

"Well, all three of you were doing a bit better at going up the lava river than I was. Maybe that's it?"

Mira shook her head. "Can't be. There's nothing unusual or suspicious about it, and besides, Tom wasn't doing a whole lot better than you."

"Gee, thanks," muttered Tom, but he was smiling slightly. Teralyn relaxed; her friends were coming back to life at last.

Adam put on a mock-serious face. "Maybe it's because you worry a lot more than the rest of us."

"Very funny," snapped Teralyn, scowling at him. "You do know that that's what saved you neck several times while we were on Lyoko?" Adam winced at this.

"Ach!" he muttered. "My pride has been wounded."

"Should be wounded more often," said Tom, sounding amused.

Teralyn closed her eyes. In her head, she began to play back the trip to Lyoko, doing her best to remember every detail that had taken place. The wolves had cornered them, but that had just been Tom and Adam… that couldn't be it. Then there had been the scorpions; when Teralyn had prevented Mira from going over the edge after…

"After all three of them were stung by them!" she exclaimed. "That's it! Mira, is it possible that the scorpions' stingers carried some kind of poison?"

Mira sat up, immediately catching on. She looked interested at the thought. "It's possible. Most normal scorpions have it, after all. Stella could've implanted a virus in those specific ones that attacked us. Most likely she meant to hit all four of us with them; that's why she waited until we were trapped in that little cave."

"And we fix that… how?" asked Adam.

"Simple," Mira replied. "We create an antivirus. Apply it to our Lyoko profiles, and bam!"

Adam rolled his eyes, despite the fact that he couldn't see with them. "There's a slight problem with that plan, Mira," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You kind of need to use the supercomputer for that, and well… you can't exactly _see_ it. Not to mention that you're the only one that can use it."

Mira, rather than glaring at him, stared straight ahead, though Teralyn could hear the annoyance in her voice. "I was getting to that, Adam. There's another way to do it: from the Lyoko interface in the lava sector. We would need the information on how to create it from there anyway, since I don't know the virus's format."

Teralyn was relieved that Mira had had her lesson on viruses from Jeremie the other day. She didn't think she could bear having to babysit her friends for much longer.

"Should we go now?" she asked hesitantly. It was risky. After all, this was the perfect time for Stella to attack.

"I don't think we have much choice," Mira replied. "It might as well be now. Better sooner than when it's too late."

* * *

Tom heard Mira's words, and frowned. What exactly did she mean by that? Was there something that she wasn't telling them?

He brushed the thought out of his head. Mira didn't keep all that many secrets. But then, she had been under a lot of stress lately, and Tom had a feeling that there was quite a bit that she wasn't letting on. She hadn't said a word about her programs for a while, except to tell them that Memory Block was finally complete.

Being friends with her since he could remember, he was worried about her. Mira often bottled up her emotions, keeping them hidden in so that her friends didn't have to deal with them as well. She needed a reminder that they were here for her- but not then. Right then, they had some serious business to deal with.

He stood, feeling slightly off balance. His coordination wasn't right, since he couldn't see where he was going, but he would have to deal with it. I hope that we can see on Lyoko, he thought.

Teralyn led the way once more, his hand on her shoulder, Adam's on his, Mira's on Adam's. He was visited by a sudden urge to hold her hand instead, but resisted. He felt blush creeping onto his cheeks at the thought.

Look, he told himself. There's no way she likes you, all right?

But what about that smile? another voice said. She only ever smiles that way at you.

I'm imagining things! he shot back.

He shook himself out of silent argument, and concentrated on listening and keeping from bumping into things. Whenever they heard someone approach, they quickly let go of their grasp on each other's shoulders and stopped walking. He didn't hear anyone comment.

That is, until they were almost at the stairs.

The sudden chill was palpable. Tom could barely suppress a shudder, and he felt Teralyn stiffen ahead of him. The four of them knew who it was. No one had that kind of aura surrounding them.

Except a certain white haired girl, with yellow eyes that seemed to stare into your very soul. He had noticed recently that she unnerved even the teachers at school. Even blind, he could feel her eyes on him, burning him and freezing him at the same moment. Her footsteps were hardly audible, but Tom could tell when they paused.

The tension worsened.

Her soft laugh filled his ears. "Three blind mice…" she murmured. "How pitiful. If only there was a fourth, but of course, Teralyn had to spoil the party."

"You know what they say, or maybe you don't: every party needs a pooper. And quite frankly, that's why we invited you," Teralyn shot back. Mira laughed, but it was clearly forced.

He felt Stella's gaze leave him, and wondered who she was directing it to now. His question was answered as, voice full of menace, Stella hissed, "I hear that you have a younger brother, Mira. Otho, was that his name? It's so sad that he's not at Kadic yet. I can't wait to meet him." With that comment, she strode off.

Tom guessed that Mira was trembling with rage about now. His guess was right, as she said, "That… that… _psychopath_!"

He decided that she couldn't go on this mission feeling reckless. "Mira," he said kindly, "She did say that he wasn't at Kadic yet; he's not coming for another nine months! She just said it to distract us from what we need to do."

He heard Mira slow down her breathing, calming down slightly. "You're right, Tom."

A sudden rumbling sound distracted them. He felt his hand grasping thin air; Teralyn had run off somewhere. It must not have been very far, for he heard her sharp intake of breath.

Uneasiness crept into him. "Teralyn, what is it?"

"We've got to go, now!" she shouted suddenly, placing his hand back on her shoulder. She began to jog, and Tom realized that he would just have to trust her. The stairs would have been tricky, but with their urgency it suddenly wasn't that difficult to get down to the ground floor. He felt a slight breeze tickle his face, indicating that they had gone outside, and he expected to feel the ground turn soft with grass. But the feeling never came.

"Teralyn, uh, where are we going?"

"The boiler room. No time to explain, just move!"

The breeze stopped, and was followed by a sudden wave of heat, indicating that they had entered the boiler room. He couldn't remember the details of their dash for it, but he did remember Mira crying out once.

"Something… grabbed… my ankle," she panted. "I'm okay, though."

"Good," said Adam, sounding like he meant it. Tom allowed himself a smirk; Adam was obviously concerned for Mira… _very_ concerned. He heard Teralyn opening the door to the sewers, and grasped her shoulder again. She pulled them inside, before shutting it behind them.

"Teralyn, what happened?" Mira asked. Tom pictured her putting her hands on her hips the same way Teralyn would whenever she was about to rebuke someone.

Teralyn sighed. "Well…" she explained.

"She's doing WHAT?" Adam yelled, sounding shocked. "That'll give all those fighting-global-warming efforts a bad name."

Tom nodded, then felt the urgency return as another rumble shook them. He was incredibly glad that they weren't at school- where Stella had taken control of the trees, and was using their powerful roots to enclose and crush the school. He didn't like the picture that formed in his head.

They began to run again.

* * *

Jeremie was in his room, with Aelita, when the entire dorm shook.

"What the?" He went to the window to investigate, and was shocked by what he saw.

Trees, everywhere, seemed to be leaning towards the school, in a menacing way. Their roots grew at an alarming rate, creeping up his window even as he watched. Aelita joined him, gasping as she beheld the disaster.

"This can't be," he said. He sat down at his computer, typing furiously, before groaning. "I forgot; my computer's not connected to Lyoko anymore."

Aelita frowned. "You really think that it's XANA?"

"I can't think of anything else. We should probably go to the factory, before the situation worsens."

Aelita already had her phone out. "I'll call Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi."

Jeremie nodded. "Good idea. Let's hope we can get out before we're trapped!"

The two of them ran out the door, Jeremie in the lead. Aelita held her mobile to her ear.

"Yumi? What? Oh no, that can't be!... We'll be there soon. I doubt we'll be able to hold out for long, though." She clicked the red button to hang up. "Yumi says that all the exits are already blocked. There's just no way we're getting out of here." Tears began to form in her eyes. "I just wish XANA would just stay dead!"

"He _is_ dead."

They skidded to a stop, spinning around to see the new eighth grader, Stella Zireau, staring at them calmly.

Jeremie stepped forward, but was unable to meet her yellow eyes for long. Staring at the ground, he asked, "What exactly do you mean by that?"

She smirked. "I mean exactly what I said. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend to." She swept past them, white hair swishing slightly.

Aelita stared after her. "I don't trust her," she remarked. She shivered. She gives off this… chill, you know what I mean?"

Jeremie nodded. Something was up with Stella, but they couldn't worry about that now. He turned to Aelita. "Where are we meeting the others?"

"In the gym, that's where everyone is."

"Then let's get going."

* * *

"Virtualization!" Teralyn said uncertainly. Mira had given her very clear instructions on how to get her and Adam into the lava sector, but Teralyn had been nervous anyway. Mira could sympathize with her; she could clearly remember the first time she had done it.

"Okay, Teralyn, can you hear me?" she called. She and Adam had just landed in the sector, where the main river and all the other rivers converged into a pool. The digital sky was black with smoke.

"Loud and clear."

"Here are the instructions to set up a delayed virtualization into the reef sector." She went through each step, carefully enunciating each direction. The conduit had turned up in the reef sector, and they decided to split up. Adam and Mira, being the better two at going upstream, had been sent to the lava sector. That left the abnormal conduit for Tom and Teralyn.

"Okay, we're good here. See you in a while," said Teralyn, before falling silent. Mira knew that she was heading for the scanner room with Tom.

Mira took in every detail in the landscape. She'd been so relieved to have her sight back, and so had Adam. They set off at a run along the bank, careful to stay away from the glowing lava so as not to fall in.

Adam glanced at her. "Is there any way to talk to them?"

Mira shook her head. "No." She pondered that, and decided that it would be her next project after her rocket boots were finished.

They arrived at the spot where the banks dropped away into steep cliffs that were impossible to travel along. Adam was about to jump onto the nearest chunk of rock, but Mira held out her arm and stopped him.

"We need as much time as possible, so we'll have to wait until the next wave passes."

* * *

Teralyn whirled around in the scanner, before entering a world of vibrant coral colors. Tom dropped onto the coral bridge beside her, blinking. He sighed with relief. "I can see."

Teralyn wanted to cheer and hug him, but they had more important problems right then. "Come on," she said. "Time's running out, and we need to get there before the entire school is crushed!"

* * *

"Now!" Mira shouted, as the wave roared past. The two of them leapt nimbly onto the first floating rock, holding their arms out to maintain their balance. Adam dove for the next one, landing with his hands planted firmly before pushing off to the next closest. Mira followed a similar pattern, jumping and hand-springing from rock to rock, steadily making her way upstream. Now that they had more confidence doing so, the going was a lot quicker.

The upper levels of the lava sector were coming closer with every leap, and Mira soon saw a tunnel up ahead. She realized that the tunnel was where the wave came from, and panicked; how much time had gone past? A rumble answered her. It would start soon…

Two scorpions perched on two of the rocks ahead of them. Mira inwardly groaned. Not now, she thought.

"Adam!" she yelled, and began heading to where the sides of the river were leveling out. "Head for shore, we don't have time to fight them!"

Adam looked briefly disappointed, but the expression was replaced by alarm as the roar increased. Mira could see the lava glowing in the cave mouth, before it erupted out. She threw herself at the bank, knowing that her jump wouldn't carry her far enough.

"Flash dodge!" she shouted. Her power to dodge at the speed of light carried her the extra distance she needed, and she crashed onto the bank just as the wave swept past. She watched, satisfied, as it carried the two scorpions away, shrieking.

Adam offered her hand, which she took gratefully. She held it just a little longer than necessary, before letting her own drop to the side. Turning away from him, she beheld the hill that the tunnel burrowed under. At the top was an enormous platform, which was surrounded by five giant spikes that branched out of the hill.

That must be it, she thought. She was losing her energy already, but set off up the hill at a run anyway. As she had suspected, a sphere containing a version of the Lyoko holomap glowed at the top of it. In front of the core was a small monitor- the interface.

She stared at it for a moment. It didn't look like anything special. In fact, it looked exactly like the panels in the conduits. She strode up to it, placing her hand on the screen. As she had suspected, her name popped up, but that was when things went different.

Rather than a row of bars indicating then energy level, a bunch of data files came up instead. Mira placed her hand on the one labeled Code: ZIREAU. All kinds of information came up, making her gasp involuntary. This thing had _tons_ of data on Stella: her status, her monsters, even her height, weight, and normal physical capabilities. Mira searched for the scorpions, relieved to find what she was looking for: the virus that had been implanted in the stingers before.

Her computer skills took over then, formatting the virus in the opposite way, so that it would counter the effects of the original.

She became aware of a fight behind her, and a chilling laugh made her realize that Adam was holding off Stella. "Hurry it up, Mira! Reversal!" he shouted, getting a slight grunt from Stella. Mira was glad that Stella had gotten a taste of her own medicine.

"Done!" she yelled. The antivirus was finally equipped to their Lyoko profiles, and she wiped the interface clean. She heard Adam cry out, and knew that he'd been devirtualized.

She didn't bother to unsheathe her sword. She felt Stella's own blade slide through her, leaving a sudden cold in her stomach before her forehead was pressed against the scanner's door.

* * *

Teralyn brought her whip whirling around, watching it wrap around the lizard's neck and destroying it. Behind her, Tom was already in the conduit. This was too easy, she thought, and then realized that Stella must have gone after Mira and Adam instead. She hoped that they had made it.

The other lizard, its feet planted firmly, fired a dart at her- the third one. She groaned as blackness covered her eyes.

* * *

William Dunbar joined the rest of the Lyoko gang in the gym, a suspicion forming in his mind. Roots were creeping into the gym, and the gym sagged under the oppressive force. He couldn't understand why Jeremie's friends didn't _do_ something.

XANA wasn't back, he knew that much. A part of XANA would always be a part of him. He had slowly become aware of that. There had been incidents in which he had actually enjoyed hurting people, like watching Herve squirm in pain while he twisted his arm behind his back, and he had a feeling that he would know if XANA had returned.

Aelita turned to him as he approached. She looked resigned. "We don't know what's causing this," she said. "We don't know how to stop it, so don't look at me like we're somehow responsible!"

William stopped, then he heard Ulrich say to Jeremie "… it makes sense. That Stella girl said something really freaky to Odd and me the other day. Something like, 'Hope you've enjoyed the calm before the storm'. It wouldn't surprise me if she's behind this."

William was alerted by this. It was well known throughout Kadic by now that Stella had a reputation for being cold, sinister, and unfeeling. It wouldn't surprise him either.

A loud groan interrupted his thoughts, and he looked up. No! he thought, watching as the ceiling began to crumble.

Chaos erupted, students running in all directions, as the roots' pressure finally won over. The debris seemed to be tumbling down in slow motion…

And then froze in place.

A whiteness came from nowhere, obscuring everything he knew…

* * *

Adam blinked several times. "I promise to always appreciate my eyes from now on," he said solemnly.

Mira punched him lightly in the arm. "You'll forget in about a day or so."

He shrugged, then, after a moment's hesitation, put his arm around her. Mira turned pink, but didn't pull away.

The four of them were heading for lunch in town, not wanting to eat sandwiches again. Tom and Teralyn both smirked at the sight of Adam with his arm around Mira, but neither noticed.

"I didn't think we'd get out of that one," Tom admitted. "That was the toughest challenge we've had to deal with yet."

"Tell me about it," Mira agreed. She leaned her head on Adam's shoulder. "But hey, we made it, and we'll make it next time too." Adam smiled a genuine smile at the black haired girl. She lifted her head and smiled back, her emerald eyes warm. Life hadn't been this good in… well, a while.


	8. Chapter 8: Nightmare Scenario

His footsteps pounded in his ears, his lungs burning as he ran. He remembered the shock in Mira's eyes as she had told him…

Rounding a corner, he saw the infirmary door, slightly ajar. He felt tears fall from his eyes as he ran, choking on his sobs, through it.

Yolande and Adam were by the bed; Yolande had her face in her hands, while Adam just stared down, a blank expression on his face. His gray eyes had absolutely no emotion in them, apart from a deep and horrible sorrow.

Tom looked down, slowly, at the bed.

Teralyn lay there, eyes open wide. The usually warm brown was clouded, as though she was seeing a horror within her own mind. Her mouth was open, a tiny little hole that a whimper might have come out of, before… before…

He turned to Adam, and whispered, "How?"

Adam just shook his head.

Tom felt as though the ground was falling from beneath him. Then he glanced down, and saw that it was.

"Hey… what the!…" he yelled, as he fell. He looked up, catching the sight of Yolande and Adam staring down at him. He felt sickened as he saw that Teralyn was sitting up and looking at him as well. Lies… he thought.

All three had yellow eyes.

This had to be a dream. An incredibly bad one, if what had supposedly happened to Teralyn was in it. He felt himself relax slightly at the thought. He waited, feeling the wind rush past him as he fell, further and further into blackness.

As he went down, a thought occurred to him: if I'm dreaming, then why haven't I woken up?

* * *

"And the equation for this sort of chemical conversion is… what?"

Mira sighed, feeling slightly annoyed. She glanced at the empty spot beside her, noticing not for the first time that Tom should've been next to her. Adam had said, during breakfast that Tom was still sleeping when he had woken up. He had chuckled as he told the rest of the group that he thought Tom deserved his rest. By chemistry, in which Mrs. Hertz had asked where Tom was, Mira thought it was a little bit ridiculous.

She drummed her fingers on the table, pausing only to answer a question that Mrs. Hertz directed at her in a neutral voice. She could feel the class's curiosity on her. They knew that of all the people who would know where Tom was, she was one of the three. The thing was that she didn't know; she also didn't know how anyone could sleep that late.

Oh well; she didn't even try to begin to understand the workings of the mind of the opposite sex. It was beyond her.

The class groaned, and Mira looked around, confused, to see that Mrs. Hertz was handing out papers. The words 'pop quiz' instantly sprang into her mind, but for once she didn't mind. Maybe it would take her mind off of Tom's predicament.

Her plan failed miserably; she just couldn't concentrate, not when her mind was buzzing with questions. Just as she was focusing on an answer, another question interrupted, such as: Is Tom really okay? If it wasn't that, it was: I wonder what Adam's thinking right now?

Those questions made her embarrassed, though she told herself that the reason she thought them was because she was worried; Adam was a good friend of Tom, not to mention his only male friend. But… if that was true, why wasn't she equally pondering Teralyn? It was pretty darn obvious that Teralyn liked Tom, and Tom liked Teralyn, though they were both oblivious. Teralyn would be concerned as well. A memory of Adam with his arm around her, her head on his shoulder, came back to her. The look that they'd exchanged…

She checked the time, panicking as she realized that she'd spent five minutes without writing down half of the answers. She simply made up a few, unable to do much better than that. Just as she scribbled down something that she was sure wasn't the answer, Mrs. Hertz called out, "All right, time's up! Please hand up your papers."

Anne, the gossip queen of the school, turned around as she handed her her quiz. Mira winced as she thought of the grade she'd probably get, but then she was only really intelligent when it came to computers. And common sense.

Though she knew that Teralyn would disagree with _that_ one.

"Hey!" Anne hissed at her, and Mira turned to stare. "Where's Tom today?"

Mira shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."

Anne looked disappointed, but Mira wasn't about to give her another topic to babble about. If Anne got a hold of any interesting information, it would be all over Kadic in about an hour. The only people quicker at distributing news were Milly and Tamiya. Those two ninth graders had been at it for two years, after all.

Mira stood up quickly, and exited without pushing her chair in. She wanted to avoid questions, which turned out to be more difficult than she had anticipated. So she simply ignored them.

* * *

Tom ran along behind Mira and the others. They were on Lyoko, the lava sector to be precise. He was sick of these crazy dreams, though he could only remember the first one. This one was different from all the others. He couldn't control his own movements like before; it was as if he was watching from behind his eyes.

Beside him, Teralyn shouted: "Hey, Mira, is that the white-haired freak up ahead?"

"I believe so." Mira sounded different somehow; Tom had expected her to sound tired or exasperated, but she was more quiet and neutral now.

They stopped running, the five of them coming to a halt-

Wait a minute, _five_?

He stared at a tall boy he'd never seen before. His hair was black and spiky; his hazel eyes were good-natured and cheerful. His Lyoko attire was… odd, to say the least. He had a slingshot strapped to his waist, though it looked weirdly high-tech. Also in the belt were a bunch of gray pellets, which Tom guessed went in the slingshot. He looked like he was wearing a blue monocle of some, which was strapped to his right ear. He wore a fighting suit that went well with his slim form, and was maroon overall.

The boy grinned. "Whoa, man, company already?"

Tom felt himself turn away as he snorted. "Come on, Zeke, you knew it wouldn't be long before we saw her."

"I know, dude, but I didn't know we'd get this much of a welcoming committee. So Mira, can we take her out now?"

Mira didn't answer him, and just leapt at Stella. Stella seemed confident; she stood there, not even bothering to unsheathe her sword. Tom felt his mouth open, probably to shout a warning that there could be a trap, when Mira stopped in mid-slash. She eyes were wide, and she took a step back.

Stella smirked.

"I knew I could count on you…"

Teralyn stepped forward. "Mira, what exactly is going on?"

Mira didn't answer. Instead, she slowly turned around to face Teralyn. Her eyes burned with something Tom had never seen before. He watched, feeling suddenly horrified, as Mira simply stabbed Teralyn in the chest. Teralyn's eyes went wide with shock as she pixilated away.

"What are you doing?" shouted Adam. He started forward, catching Mira's sword with his wrist guard, before leaning back, placing one hand on the ground, and kicking up and over. The energy crescent hit Mira in the face, and she staggered backward.

Something changed then; her eyes narrowed, and she suddenly had a lot more confidence in her stance. As Adam slashed at her again, she moved faster and more accurately than Tom had thought was even possible. She leaned over to the right, avoiding the energy slash, and at the same time grabbed Adam's wrist. In one fluid motion, she flung him over her head, racing over as he landed, to stab him in the leg.

Zeke's voice came to Tom: "She's using Inner Focus! RUN FOR IT!"

Tom didn't know what on earth Inner Focus was, but his dream being obviously did. He turned and ran as fast as he could, Zeke beside him. They pelted down the hill at full speed, when Zeke yelled. Tom turned to him, only to see that he was too late, as Zeke crumpled, Mira's sword impaling him through the back.

He turned, teeth bared in a snarl, feeling hurt and betrayal within him as he drew his two long daggers. Mira slowly went over to her sword and grasped it by the hilt, turning towards him. She still had that unusual, confident stance, and her eyes still burned with, he realized, hatred.

But it wasn't hatred for him; in fact, he couldn't tell who it was directed towards. He felt his mouth move.

"Mira… I don't understand. Why?"

She blinked, but the look never once left her eyes. Her voice was hardened, as she said, "She's like me. She's the only one like me."

Tom felt a small shiver go down his spine at those words. What was it that Stella had told Mira to get her to believe that?

He felt himself tense, before he struck. He shouted out his ability, "True Eye!"

His futuristic vision came to him, but Mira was already moving. He gasped, barely able to block her as her blade aimed at his hip. He didn't get it; True Eye didn't fail him, but the specter of her that he should have been seeing was… blurred, somehow.

"False Eye!" he muttered; his power wouldn't help him. Not now. For a moment, he saw her determination falter, but then she feinted to his left. Bending low, she kicked his feet out from under him, whirled, and brought her sword down on his shoulder.

Blackness covered his eyes, but this time the nightmare didn't fade from his memory. It burned there, even as the next vision began.

* * *

Adam scowled, marching up to Tom's room. He'd stuck up for his friend, letting him sleep in for a while, and in the end it only caused Mira and Teralyn to get angry with him. Teralyn especially, but he smirked at the thought. That was no surprise at all.

He opened the door, a frown still upon his face, which only deepened when he saw that his friend was still sleeping. Infuriated now, he yelled in Tom's ear, "Get up, you lazy bum!" He shook Tom's shoulder, but Tom didn't respond. At least not in the way he'd expected.

Frustrated, he stalked around the room, searching for something that would make a noise loud enough for Tom to rise and shine. No such thing was around, however, and Adam was about to throw him out of bed when he heard it.

Tom was groaning, whimpering, almost.

"No… don't, stop, it's not like you… what are you doing? Get away from me! STOP!" he screamed, sitting upright. Adam shuddered when he saw that Tom's eyes were still closed. Something was wrong here. _Really_ wrong.

He whipped out his cell, dialing Mira's number faster than he ever had before. Her answer was slightly annoyed, but otherwise calm.

"What is it, Adam?"

He glanced at Tom, and for a moment felt doubtful; but then certainty returned to him as Tom began muttering to himself again. He was still sitting upright.

"Look, this'll sound crazy, but I think Tom's trapped in his nightmares or something. Either way it's not looking good from here."

Alarm crept into her voice at once. "Gimme a sec." He thought he could hear clicking sounds, and realized that she had her laptop with her. "Yeah, abnormal conduit. Forest sector."

"I'll be right there."

"Look, Adam…" she sounded hesitant. "Could you bring him with you? I feel like we should keep an eye on him, just to be safe."

Adam snorted, but complied. "But one day he's going to pay for me having to haul his behind around."

Mira gave a short laugh, and hung up.

He shoved his phone in his pocket, and went over to Tom. No way am I carrying him, he thought. An idea came to his mind: Tom was half-conscious, so why not coax him into sleep-walking?

Tom's eyes were shut tight, and he didn't respond as Adam helped him onto his feet. Tom took slow hesitant steps, but he was walking, even if it was only a little.

Then, quite suddenly, Tom began clawing at Adam's eyes. He let loose a bloodcurdling scream, so unearthly and unlike Tom that Adam flinched away, letting Tom fall back on his bed. He sighed, took out his phone again and sent Mira a text: _This is not going to work_.

After pressing the 'send' button, he took one last glance at Tom. "Hang in there," he murmured, before shutting the door to Tom's room.

As he headed down the hallway, he heard another screech come from Tom's room. He winced as it grated against his eardrums.

* * *

Teralyn stood in the computer lab, wearing her scowl of suspicion, as Mira stuffed her mobile in her jeans pocket. She turned to her, sitting in the computer chair, in a way that made Teralyn expect her to say, "I've been expecting you," in that creepy voice they used in movies.

Instead she said, "Adam says that Tom's trapped in his nightmares. We need to get to the forest, before anyone else falls asleep and becomes a victim of this."

"Why Tom, though?" Teralyn asked. It could have been any one of them, but Tom had been the one to get nightmares.

Mira shrugged. "We were all up pretty early. Maybe the conduit didn't change until this morning."

Teralyn's anger was so sudden that Mira took a step back. "Then it's Adam's fault that Tom's like this!" she shouted, eyes flashing. "If he hadn't"-

"Look, Teralyn, I know that you're worried, but we need to focus," Mira snapped. "We can't be dwelling on what would've happened; we need to move on and help Tom."

Teralyn drew several breaths, attempting to calm herself, and met Mira's eyes. She made sure that the first thing she'd do as soon as the executed the return trip was slap Adam. Wait- why was she so worried for Tom? Would I feel the same way about Adam? she wondered. Somehow she already knew the answer to that question.

Mira smirked while they waited for Adam. "Thinking about Tom, are we?"

Teralyn was caught off-guard. "I don't know what you're talking about!" she snapped, a little too quickly.

Mira rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. I mean, it's pretty darn obvious that you like him."

"Says who?"

"Says my gut. And it's usually right."

Teralyn was about to shout out another denial when an idea occurred to her. A smile slowly grew on her lips as she said, "What about Adam?"

Mira had on a neutral face, but Teralyn was aware that Mira was good at hiding her emotions. "What about him?"

"Well, first of all I've caught you two sneaking looks at each other. Second there was that time after the tree attack, when we were heading to lunch, and you two were…"

"Yeah, I get the point," Mira said, looking annoyed. When Teralyn continued to stare at her, she sighed with frustration.

"Okay, maybe I have a crush on him! Even when I first met him, and I thought that I hated him! But I don't even know if my feelings will amount to anything. He probably doesn't feel the same."

Teralyn snorted. "Are. You. Kidding. Me. _Of course_ he feels the same way about you! You've should've seen how he looked when he put his arm around you, and you didn't flinch away. He looked ready to dance a jig."

Mira blushed slightly. "Well… he's courageous, funny, athletic, tough… but he's also got a gentler side. Like when he smiles…" her voice trailed off.

Teralyn smirked. "Not to mention that he's hot."

"TERALYN!"

"Sorry! Just speaking your mind."

Mira raised her eyebrow at her. "So… I've done my part. What do you think of Tom?"

Teralyn subconsciously ran her fingers through her ponytail. "Umm… let me think about it." She paused, but the only words that she could say were, "He's kind of the quiet type, but not too much. He knows when it's the right time to talk, and what to say… and it feels a bit like he's looking at me- the real me- instead of the basketball star everyone else sees."

Mira kept the eyebrow raised, and her voice was skeptical. "Oh, so we don't see you for whom you are either?"

"No, that's not what I meant," Teralyn said firmly. She struggled to find the right words. "I mean… you and Adam see me for who I am too, but Tom can see deeper. Everything he says just… surprises me."

Mira's green eyes twinkled. "You sure that that's all?" she asked, chuckling slightly.

Teralyn gave Mira her glare, putting an end to the conversation just as the elevator doors opened, Adam stepping out. He grinned briefly, gesturing down at the scanner room. "Shall we get going?" he asked, mimicking a British accent.

Teralyn rolled her eyes at him. "Duh. If we want to save the world and all, then why wait another minute?"

Mira nodded in agreement. "All right, I've started up the delayed virtualization process."

The three headed for the scanner room, but Teralyn's thoughts turned back to Tom again. She hoped that they would succeed, for his sake.

* * *

Adam stepped into the scanner. The old panic filled him once again, but he was so used to it that he barely cringed after getting inside. He turned around in time to see Mira flash a smile at him before the doors closed.

He wished he could see that smile again, as he spun around in the tube. The white light obscured his vision, but soon the tang of pines filled his nostrils as he landed in a crouch on one of the enormous branches of the forest sector. The two girls fell beside him, serious looks on their faces.

He wondered if he looked just as serious. It was a difficult expression for him, the normally cocky guy in the group.

He and Teralyn turned toward Mira. "So, which way's the conduit?" he asked.

"It's on the ground this time, which means we have to go way down," she answered. All three of them gulped in unison, glancing down where the bottom of the sector awaited them. It was a very long drop, but Adam steeled himself for it.

Without hesitation, and ignoring the alarmed yells of the girls, he jumped down, aiming for the next branch. It was an easy landing, and he proceeded to go down farther, this time gripping the next branch with his hands before swinging for the next down. I feel like a monkey, he thought.

The rest of the way down was easy, until he got close to the base of the tree. There were no more branches close to the ground, so he gritted his teeth and ran down the trunk, the wind whistling in his ears. His feet hit the ground with a jarring impact, and he was forced to run forward a few more steps before coming to a stop.

Teralyn followed in a similar fashion, falling from branch to branch. Mira, on the other hand, ran all the way down the trunk. Adam watched in horrified fascination, as she gained speed, before pushing herself off the trunk and landing beside him crouching.

She grinned briefly. "Top that," she said.

Teralyn scowled at her. "Quit showing off and be more careful!"

Mira frowned back. "Hey, I'm not hurt, and we need to be quick about this! This attack isn't as urgent as some of the others, but we may have to be faster in the future."

"Then let's get going," Adam suggested, before the two could argue any further. "Lead the way, Mira."

"Right." She took off, lightly running along the ground, heading around one giant tree trunk off to his left. Adam followed, with Teralyn bringing up the rear. All he could hear was his own breathing and their footsteps- Mira's, quick and agile, Teralyn's longer and firmer, and his own, which were somewhere in the middle. Eventually, though, his hearing (which was a lot sharper on Lyoko) picked up something else. It was some kind of padding, and his sense of danger heightened. Off to his left, he thought he heard a growl.

"Duck!" he shouted, throwing himself to the ground just as a wolf leapt over him. It crashed into a nearby tree, yelping in pain as it shook its head. Mira threw herself backward and underneath the wolf that jumped at her, unsheathing her black sword and slicing through its underbelly as it sailed overhead. She landed in a handstand, pushing off the ground just as a third ran at her, snarling.

Teralyn hadn't ducked; she had lashed out with her lightwhip, catching a fourth between the eyes and causing it to reel backward. Reasoning that Teralyn probably had it covered, he turned back to his own adversary, noting that it was already prepared to start hand-to-hand combat. It balanced on its hind legs, yellow eyes taunting him. Adam made a karate chop motion, sending an energy crescent at his opponent, but the wolf blocked it with one of its claws. It countered with a slash at his head, which Adam dodged, before performing a cartwheel that sent another slash at the wolf's front leg.

Its right claw now useless, it lashed out before he could make another move, catching him in the shoulder and throwing him against the tree. As it ran up for the final blow, Adam shouted, "Reversal!"

Claw marks appeared in the wolf's throat, causing it to stagger back, its eyes glaring at him with hatred before it dissolved into tiny blue squares.

Adam sighed with relief, straightening up to observe the other two fights. Teralyn's arm was sparking, indicating life points lost, but she delivered a snap-kick to the wolf's chin. The wolf reared, giving Teralyn the time she needed to wrap her whip around its neck. The whip's blue light illuminated the fur of the beast for a moment, before it disappeared.

She deactivated the weapon, wrapping the whip part around the handle before attaching it to her belt.

Mira punched the remaining wolf in the face, before stabbing it in the shoulder. Adam felt slightly amused at seeing Mira punch something; normally she hated using her fists. This time was an exception.

The three of them set off again without speaking, slight worn out from the fight. All three of them had lost life points, and they needed to move on to the conduit before reinforcements for Stella came. Adam hoped that he would not be seeing Stella herself here. Battling her was beyond him, even with his reversal power. Only Mira seemed on equal terms with the sadistic girl, and even she had been overwhelmed by Stella.

* * *

The principal sat in his office, feeling ready to take a nap. He'd had to lecture Hiroki Ishiyama and his friend Johnny for playing a prank on Jim, and then he'd had to deal with Tom Saratra. The boy just couldn't seem to wake up, despite the fact that he often shouted. And then there was the news that his three friends were missing.

Really, thought Mr. Delmas, those four give me too much trouble.

Just then, Jim entered the office.

"Oh, hello there, Jim," he said, trying to sound alert. "I hope that you've brought me good news for once."

"Afraid not, sir," Jim replied. He looked grim. "We've got several more cases of what Saratra had. Students that fell asleep in class won't wake up anymore. They keep thrashing around, it was almost impossible to get them to the infirmary."

The principal groaned; this was not what he needed right now.

* * *

Tom glared at Stella, who leaned against one of the pillars in the school courtyard. She smirked at him, her yellow eyes taunting.

"Can I please wake up yet?" he asked, annoyed. "A dream with you in it is not my idea of a good night's sleep."

Stella's eyes were cold. "You won't be waking up," she said. "Ever."

Tom realized, then, that this was her doing.

"You're wrong," he told her. "Mira and the others will deactivate the conduit. They'll beat you again!"

"I'm afraid that you are mistaken," Stella replied. "Now then, I can't waste my time speaking to you. I have to get going."

Tom realized the courtyard was empty. Stella walked past him, stopping a few feet away. She spread her arms out, and lifted her head toward the sky. For a moment, Tom thought that she was worshipping the sun, but then Stella was lifted off the ground. Thin streams of light, which Tom realized were just streams of numbers, wrapped around her entire body. The pale glow began to brighten, until Tom was forced to look away. When he looked back, she was gone.

Tom had no doubt that she had just gone to Lyoko. He also had no doubt that, even if she had been in the real world, she would have been able to get there the same way.

I have to tell Mira, he thought. Maybe this had something to do with what XANA had told them: her connection to Lyoko.

* * *

Mira saw the conduit ahead, wrapped in its red shield. She also saw Stella materialize directly in front of it, landing on the ground. Stella drew her white blade, and was poised, calmly waiting for them.

Mira knew that fighting was inevitable, and simply threw herself at the girl. Just as their swords were about to meet, she yelled "Flash dodge!"

She was now at Stella's side, slashing at her foe's hip, and making contact. The area sparked; Stella had lost life points. Baring her teeth, Stella pressed her attack, driving Mira back and away from the conduit. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Teralyn and Adam fighting two lizards.

Teralyn had just whipped the leg of one, but Mira noticed that it was now aiming for her face. A sudden memory came upon her, and she yelled, "Teralyn!"

Teralyn turned slightly, and as Mira parried another blow from Stella, their eyes met. Teralyn gave the tiniest of nods, before throwing herself out of the way. Mira kicked Stella in the stomach, and absorbed the dart on her sword.

At once, the green glow began to build. Mira could sense the energy within her sword, like a wild animal waiting to be released. She used it to combat Stella for a little longer, waiting for an opening. Each time Stella's white sword met hers, it bounced off. Stella looked slightly frustrated.

Mira used a thrust from Stella, ducking beneath it to throw her off balance, and whipped up her own sword. The force of the blow knocked the white blade from Stella's hand, and Mira spun around so that the tip was pointed at Stella's center. She released the energy.

Stella's yellow eyes widened, a split second before the emerald beam of energy collided with her. The force of it lifted her up, illuminating her before she was slammed into the tree trunk behind her. She glared at Mira, just before she pixilated away to nothingness.

"Whoa. Now that was… awesome."

Mira turned to see Adam and Teralyn staring at her. The lizards had vanished; Mira assumed that her two friends had destroyed them.

Teralyn sighed, sounding content. "I just loved that expression on Stella's face when you blasted her. She definitely wasn't expecting that."

Adam made a mock bow, indicating the conduit. "Would the lady like to do the honors?"

Mira smiled. "Don't mind if I do."

She strode purposefully towards the red wall, pushing through it. She had the sensation of walking through a sheet of water, though she remained dry.

Her palm went up to the nearest panel, and her name appeared, as expected. The row of bars came next, and she lowered the bright red one.

"Energy level normalized."

Tom felt as though someone was sucking him out of his latest nightmare. Everything suddenly went black, and with the feeling of surfacing from deep water, he opened his eyes.

His vision blurred for a moment, but after it cleared, he saw that he was in the infirmary. There were several other students with him, all looking like they'd just woken up from a deep sleep. One of them he recognized as Marianne, from his gym class. Tears spilled out of her eyes.

Guess I wasn't the only one having nightmares, he thought. The white light absorbed his vision. "Return to the past, now."

* * *

Mira entered chemistry to find Tom waiting for her in his usual seat. She let out her pent up breath, relieved to see him awake. Her relief faltered, however, when she saw how serious he looked.

Feeling apprehensive, she sat next to him. "Something up?"

He took a deep breath. "Mira," he began, his blue eyes meeting hers, "I can only remember three of the nightmares Stella sent me. I think all of them are significant, but I'm only telling you about two of them. The other one… I am _never_ going to talk about."

Mira nodded. "Go on."

"Well… the last one, Stella and I had a short conversation. After that, she went to Lyoko. Look, Mira, this'll sound crazy, but I think she can go there anytime anywhere." He proceeded to explain what he had seen.

Mira felt excitement at that. "Thanks for telling me," she said. "That could definitely be useful information in the future."

Tom still looked grim. "That's not all."

Mira sat there, while Tom spoke. About how the rest of the gang would be betrayed. How she would be the one betraying them. She blinked, momentarily feeling nothing as the blood roared in her eyes. Then the emotions came: shock, disbelief, anger, denial…

"NO!" she shouted, so loudly that the class stared at her. Lowering her voice, she added, "That will not happen, Tom. I swear, it never will." She couldn't even imagine turning on her closest friends.

Tom rolled his eyes. "I don't know if it'll happen for sure, but whatever I saw, I don't think Stella meant for me to see it. I think it's more of a warning, of what could happen."

Mira took several breaths to calm herself. "It will not," she stated firmly. She and Tom fell silent as Mrs. Hertz entered the room. Even so, Mira could not concentrate on class for the second time, as the words Tom claimed she had said rang in her head, over and over again.

_"She's like me. She's the only one like me."_


	9. Chapter 9: Beach Party

"Transfer, Teralyn." Mira typed in the code for the scanners to activate. "Scanner, Teralyn. Virtualization!"

She paused a few moments, waiting impatiently while Teralyn's signal came up on the supercomputer. Teralyn's profile popped up, her life points at full value.

"Did it work?" she asked, speaking into the microphone.

"Negative, Mira. I'm still in the lava sector."

Mira groaned; she was trying to find the edge of Lyoko, in case they ever needed to leave the virtual world. It could be a necessity; Jeremie and his friends needed to leave towards the end of XANA. The problem was, since Lyoko's evolution, the digital sea was no longer accessible in the normal sectors. Though one might consider this to be a good thing, Mira knew that it could be a hindrance in the future.

She had attempted to virtualize Teralyn just outside of the sector, but Teralyn had ended up within the sector, in between the twin volcanoes. They, however, were nowhere near the edge.

"Look, I'll guide you to the main river. Once you get there, follow it downstream and we'll see what we find." It was the best Mira could do at this point.

"Roger that," Teralyn replied.

"Hey, Mira," came Tom's voice from the headset. "Adam and I have arrived at the central cavern in the cave sector. Where's the next check point?"

Mira shook herself; her frustration with the situation in the lava sector had almost made her forget about Tom and Adam's reconnaissance mission. "Oh, umm… the stalagmite tower?"

"We already went there," said Adam. "Is something on your mind, Mira?"

"No; I'm fine. Head for the observation area, 17 levels above you." Mira ignored her friends' protests at having to climb so high. It would give them something to do while she focused on Teralyn. "How's it going, Teralyn?"

"Fine; I'm at the river. I tell you, it's a long way downstream. Even longer than it is upstream, and that's saying something."

Mira sighed. She wished that she could be on Lyoko with them, rather than staying behind and operating the supercomputer. However, someone had to do it, and she was the only one who could.

Mira knew what was really bothering her so much. It was the nightmare that Tom had told her about, the one that showed her betraying the rest of the group. There were so many questions that whirled around in her mind, like who Zeke was, what she had meant when she said that Stella was like her, and why Tom hadn't been able to fight her using True Eye. Just when she thought of that question, another, similar one entered her thoughts: what was Inner Focus?

Tom had said that Zeke had panicked when he realized that she was using that. But I don't even know what this Inner Focus is, she thought. It wasn't a power listed under her Lyoko profile; she had checked and re-checked for something like that, but to no avail.

As for the program to stop Stella, Mira was making some headway on that. She now realized that Stella was connected to Lyoko in a way that allowed her to virtualize herself whether she was in a scanner or not. She guessed that it was this same connection that enabled Stella to raise the energy level from wherever she was. Mira was aware that simply shutting down the computer would probably prevent Stella from launching any attacks, but they needed a more permanent solution. None of them were sure how far Stella's abilities extended, and Mira wanted to be sure that the artificial human was put to a stop.

"Hey, Mira," Teralyn called. Mira jumped, slightly surprised by her friend's voice. "I'm at the bottom of the river. It kind of pours down into a chasm, but I can't see the bottom. On the other side, there's, like, a giant wall or something. It's got these holes in it, and most of them have light coming out of them."

"Is there a way across?" Mira asked. She examined the holomap for a bridge of some kind, but couldn't tell if there was one or not.

"Yeah, there's a little stone bridge to the other side. It doesn't look very stable, though." Mira thought she heard Teralyn swallow nervously. She could sympathize with her; she wasn't all that fond of heights either.

Even so, she said, "Relax. If you fall, I'll just rematerialize you."

"Easy for you to say," muttered Teralyn. "Sitting in front of a computer screen." Mira ignored this, watching as the green arrowhead indicating Teralyn began moving out over the chasm. She held her breath, watching as it wobbled a little before continuing. Thinking that Teralyn had it covered, Mira pulled up her program for putting a stop to Stella. She had titled it, 'Operation: Detachment'. The reason for this name was because she was thinking of finding a way to put a lock of some sort on the connection. While this wasn't permanent, it would prevent Stella from changing the energy level whenever she pleased.

She added a bit more to the program, once again looking through the information she had gotten from the interface the other day. Stella's mind was mainly connected to Lyoko through the school's electrical system; her brainwaves were sent through that to Lyoko, where they materialized themselves into, well, whatever she wanted. Be it wolves, lizards, or scorpions. When she virtualized herself, her digitalized atoms were also sent to Lyoko via the school's electrical system.

Operating the program would involve using an incredibly powerful lock to seal the connection. The problem was that Mira didn't really have anything that powerful- yet.

"Whoa," Teralyn breathed. Mira was alert at once. "I'm sending you a visual, Mira. It's… unbelievable."

Mira waited while the window loaded up onto the screen. She gasped when the visual came up.

On either side of Teralyn, a beach of some sort stretched away, wrapping around the lava sector, which Mira assumed Teralyn had just exited. The 'sand' was white, at least until it met a bright blue mass of numbers that sat still as far as the eye could see. Mira realized what it was: the digital sea.

"We've found it!" she shouted, punching the air. She heard amusement in Teralyn's voice as she said, "Umm… Mira, you're hurting my ears."

"Sorry." Grinning, she began typing furiously, scanning the sea and finding out as much as she could. "Remember, don't touch it, and especially don't fall into it. If you do…"

"… I'll be virtualized forever. Don't worry, Mira, I know."

Mira brushed her black curls out of her face, tucking them behind her ears. The digital sea. Exploring it would be exciting, but to do so, she'd have to re-design the Skidbladnir, the vessel Jeremie's friends had used to find XANA's replicas. From what she had seen on Jeremie's journal, the Skid had taken months to design. She did not have that kind of time.

She closed the visual window, before speaking into the headset. "All right, Teralyn, I'm bringing you in."

"Aye aye, captain!" Teralyn replied.

Mira rolled her eyes. She was beginning to get tired of the way Teralyn was acting. And she's supposed to be the responsible one, Mira thought.

Teralyn's voice came up again, much more alarmed now. "Hey, what's… uhh…"

"Teralyn?" Mira asked worriedly. There was no reply. "Teralyn, come on, cut it out! Teralyn!"

"Something up, Mira?" came Tom's voice. He sounded slightly winded, most likely from climbing to the top of the cave sector.

"Yes; I've lost contact with Teralyn. I need to get you guys to the lava sector."

"How do we do that?" asked Adam.

"There's this thing, near you. We haven't needed to use them yet, but I think it's a portal of some kind. I'll see if I can activate it for you, and set its destination."

She watched the holomap to make sure that the two of them were ready. "This might involve some spinning, so I'd shut your eyes if I were you."

* * *

Tom stepped onto the strange circular platform. The bottom of it glowed blue, and as soon as Adam stepped onto it with him, a transparent wall surrounded them. Tom hated spinning; he felt sick already.

"Ready?" Mira said. "Transporting in five, four, three, two, and one." As she spoke, the platform slowly began whirling around. It gained speed, and Tom squeezed his eyes shut while the world went on spinning around in. A moment later, he felt the oppressive heat of the lava sector, and the spinning soon stopped. With a moan, he threw himself off the platform.

"I think I'm gonna hurl," Adam muttered from where he was kneeling. Tom, feeling his sickening feeling abate somewhat, stoop up and surveyed the area. The river was on their left, slowly oozing down the sector.

"Okay, guys. Follow the river until you get to the chasm. Then, cross the bridge and exit the sector by going through one of those holes in the wall."

"Got it," called Tom. They began to run, Adam still looking a little woozy, but otherwise he was fine. As they ran, a thought occurred to Tom that worried him. "Mira, you don't think… that Teralyn fell into the digital sea?"

"Impossible," came Mira's reply. Her profile says that she's on Lyoko; her life points are even full. No, something happened when she was at the edge of the sector, and it's up to you guys to find out."

"What about you?" asked Adam, his eyes never leaving the ground ahead of him.

"I'll conduct a scan of every sector, and see if I can pick up Teralyn's signal. She has to be here somewhere."

"Let's hope," muttered Tom.

They continued on; Tom was beginning to tire, and he wished that they had some mode of transportation. Mira had hinted that she was working on something like that, but otherwise she hadn't told them about it.

Tom glanced at Adam. The heat of the sector didn't make him sweat- his virtual body wasn't capable of doing so- but that didn't make the warmth any more bearable. He felt bad for Adam; at least he himself didn't have to wear a full suit.

The sight of the strange wall caused him to slow down. It looked as if it had been hole-punched through several times. Light poured through each opening, shining out over the dark abyss of the chasm that the river poured into. It was an intimidating sight, and he felt much less confident when he caught sight of the bridge they were supposed to cross. It was a thin stone structure, with no railings on either side.

"That's going to be fun," muttered Adam. Tom watched as he went first on the bridge, carefully planting one foot in front of the other, arms held out to the side. Tom followed suit, careful to focus on the other side and to not look down. He didn't realize that he was holding his breath until he made it to the other side.

He let it all out, before the two of them headed over to the nearest opening. Tom was forced to shield his eyes, squinting in the bright light as they emerged onto a beach. The digital sea stretched out before them, glittering in the virtual light.

Adam took several steps out onto the sand, looking around for signs of a struggle. He shrugged, turning to Tom. "I don't see anything suspicious, except that"-

-"Teralyn's not here."

"Right."

Tom stared hard at the mass of blue numbers, but found nothing that would help them search for Teralyn. He shrugged, and pointed down the beach to their right. "We could look for her along there."

Adam nodded in agreement, pausing to say, "Hey Mira, we're going to go along the beach and look for her. Any luck on your end?"

"Not yet, but I still have to scan the space and cave sectors. Let's keep our fingers crossed," she said.

* * *

Teralyn groaned, a dull ache throbbing in her head as she came to. With a force of will, she lifted her eyelids, to see an unwelcome sight.

Stella smirked at her, raising an eyebrow. "I wondered when you'd come to," she rasped. Her voice was as cold as ever, and her eyes none less so.

Teralyn put on her best death glare. "Whatever you're trying to gain from this, Stella, it won't work!" She tried to reach for her lightwhip, and then realized that her arms were immobilized above her head. She looked up, realizing that some sort of blue energy held her wrists together. She hissed in frustration.

Stella's eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't fuss too much," she said. "If I let you go, well, let's just say it'll be a short-lived freedom."

Teralyn opened her mouth to ask what Stella meant, but before she could Stella pointed below her. Teralyn looked down, to see that she was suspended above a pool of the digital sea. Her breath caught, and she realized that Stella had her trapped. She took in her surroundings, noticing that she was in a dimly lit cave. There was a small opening, guarded by one scorpion. Two wolves prowled around the pool she hung over, their eyes never leaving her.

"Escape is futile," Stella stated. "The trap is set, and the rats are headed right for it. I could always just ask you," she added, "But I know that you wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice living on earth. Your friends are a different matter; they wouldn't want to see you get hurt, would they?"

"That's a cheap trick," Teralyn retorted. She knew it was a weak comeback.

Stella shrugged. "I'm a believer in Machiavelli. Have you ever heard the quote, 'The end justifies the means'?"

"No, and I'm glad I haven't."

"A pity." Stella shook her head, though the smirk remained. "You could have defeated me so much more… easily, if you believed in that."

"Oh really?" Teralyn muttered. She doubted that Stella would have sat there, waiting to be beaten.

"Yes, really. You could just kill me."

For a moment, Teralyn couldn't speak. She fumbled for the right words, trying to recover from the shock of hearing Stella speak the words so casually. "I can't kill you!" The words burst from her before she could say anything else.

Stella raised an eyebrow again. Teralyn felt slightly sick as she saw the similarity between the look Stella was giving her now, and the look she had received from Mira so many times. "Oh? And why's that?"

Teralyn took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and think rationally. "Consequences. We'd all be in big trouble if you were found dead. Besides… it's not right to just kill someone."

"Consequences," Stella hissed. "You should have thought about those before you tried to fight me!"

* * *

Adam thought that the beach would never end. It seemed to stretch on forever, but then it probably did. It probably wrapped around the entire lava sector in a circle. They hadn't come across anything odd or out of place so far, and he was starting to wonder if they ever would.

"I've finished the scan. No sign of Teralyn anywhere on Lyoko." Mira sounded dejected, like she'd given up. "Anything new?"

"Nothing," said Adam. She'd been checking back on them for the past couple of minutes, and his answer was always the same. He wished that he could tell her something else, to give her more hope.

Running around the entire lava sector made him wonder, not for the first time, if they were in over their heads. He felt panic begin to settle in at the thought, and pushed it away.

"Hold on, guys. I'm coming with you."

Tom paused, frowning. "Are you sure that that's the best idea, Mira?"

"Yes," she replied, without hesitation. "There's isn't anything more I can do from this end; I'll be a bigger help to you if I virtualize myself."

Adam nodded. "Go ahead; we'll wait here for you."

There was only a silent reply. She must have already headed for the scanner room. He sat on the sand, waiting for Mira's Lyoko form to emerge from one of the exits. Tom sat beside him, sighing with frustration.

"I wish we could just find her," he muttered. "I'm sick of all these crazy complications."

Adam nodded in agreement. Before he could add anything, however, Mira materialized in front of him. He stared, surprised. "That was quick."

"I just locked on to your coordinates," she said, shrugging. "Technically, this is still Lyoko."

"Whatever; let's go," said Tom. Adam glanced at him. Normally Tom was more patient, but not at the moment.

They kept going in the same direction. Adam hated how the sand wasn't firm, and his feet slid whenever he put them down. Nothing seemed to be going right today. Mira's head swiveled about, keeping a lookout for anything suspicious.

"Hey…" Tom said, on Adam's left. He was staring up, towards the top of the giant dome that housed the lava sector. "I think I see something."

Mira stopped jogging, and turned in the same direction. "You're right," she murmured. Her eyes widened slightly. "Is that a cave mouth?"

"Only one way to find out," said Adam. He ran for the wall, jumped and grabbed the rim of the nearest hole. After pulling himself up, he caught a glimpse of the lava sector before leaping for the next hole. He had to admit, his actions weren't very well thought out, but it was the only way up.

He had been doing way too much climbing lately; first earlier, trying to get to the observation area of the cave system, and now he was climbing to the top of the lava sector. The black hole that signified the entrance to the cave loomed up ahead. He wondered what they would find there.

* * *

Teralyn noticed one of the wolves coming alarmingly close. She attempted to kick it, but was too high up to reach. She scowled at Stella's back, but Stella chose to ignore her. Teralyn had considered using Time Stop to get herself out of there, but realized that that would do nothing to release the cuffs from her. Even if they did, she'd be in serious trouble. Once again, she looked down at the digital sea waiting below her.

Stella spoke abruptly. "Ah, here come the valiant heroes now."

Adam was the first into the cave, his gray eyes narrowing as he saw Stella, then widening in shock as he beheld Teralyn. "Teralyn!" he shouted, but before he could say another word, the scorpion snatched him up with its claws. Stella's voice rang out. "One move and you will be crushed."

Adam glared at her, but otherwise did nothing. He sent an apologetic look to Teralyn, which Teralyn received with a barely perceptible nod.

Mira came next, followed by Tom. Instantly, the wolves stood before them, growling with warning.

"Welcome. I must say, you took your time, Mira," said Stella. Mira, ignoring the wolf, walked around it until she was a few feet away from her archenemy. Teralyn was about to shout a warning, but the wolf did nothing except keep close to her.

Stella then did something unexpected. She unsheathed her sword, and threw it to the side. Mira raised both eyebrows, but proceeded to do the same. The black sword clattered to the ground next to the white one.

Stella started speaking, bluntly and precisely. "I don't have time to waste speaking about victory. Basically, the deal is this: tell me what you saw the day of the jumbo jet attack, and I'll let Teralyn here go. Fail to do so, and I promise you this: she will fall into the digital sea." As she said this, she gestured to the pool behind her.

Mira stiffened, her emerald eyes burning in anger. Teralyn yelled out, "Don't do it, Mira!", while Tom shouted, "You're bluffing!"

Stella addressed Tom first. "I don't bluff." She then turned to Teralyn, sneering, and said, "I expected this sort of heroism from you. You should know that your friends care about you all too much." Pivoting to face Mira once again, she added, "Your friend Adam is the only one capable of devirtualizing Teralyn in time to save her. If he makes any attempt to do so, he'll be instantly devirtualized himself."

Mira's fists shook, but her voice was controlled. "Fine. I accept these terms."

"No, Mira!" cried Teralyn feeling helpless. She wished there was something, anything, she could do. Then it hit her. Of course! She could use Time Stop until she lost all of her lifepoints-

"Sorry, but no; you can't," Stella said, without turning around. "Those cuffs suppress your Lyoko powers."

Teralyn cursed under her breath. She watched as Mira began speaking.

"It was a message from the past." Teralyn watched carefully for Stella's reaction, but Stella's expression didn't change. She was even better, in that aspect, than Mira. "A message from your creator."

_That_ got a response. Stella jerked slightly, and said, "XANA?"

Mira nodded. "His message consisted of a polymorphic specter of you. He told me your story… how you were supposed to be a servant of his, how you were too strong. Even William, his best fighter, couldn't best you." Stella didn't say anything.

"He told me that he had triggered the message to work on whoever restarted the supercomputer, and that it would only trigger if he had been destroyed. He said that he wanted revenge for what you had done, and that he thought I would want you gone, too. He told me it was essential to destroy you."

Stella paused. "That's it?"

Mira nodded.

Teralyn held her breath; would Stella buy it? Mira had left out the key part: Stella's connection to Lyoko. Teralyn glanced first at Tom, then at Adam. Both had blank, neutral faces.

After what seemed like forever, Stella nodded at last. She turned, and Teralyn felt alarmed as the cuffs levitated her away from the hole. She couldn't keep a sigh of relief from escaping her at being free.

Stella took one last, long look at the lot of them, before motioning for the scorpion to release Adam. He scowled at her as she exited the cave, her wolves and scorpion following her.

She didn't bother to retrieve her sword, and a moment later it pixilated away to nothing.

"Devirtualized herself," muttered Mira, before retrieving her own sword and heading for the entrance. The four of them stood, staring out over the digital sea, suddenly aware of their exhaustion. Teralyn had to admit- as much danger as the sea of numbers held, it was still beautiful, somehow.

"I wonder what else we'd be able to find around here." Adam said. "I mean, the outer beach… I think that's a good name for it."

Mira gave a shaky laugh. "Well, let's not explore right now; my bed sounds a whole lot better than sand and the possibility of permanent virtualization."

"Hear hear," Teralyn muttered. She took one last long look at the expanse of 'water', before pulling out her lightwhip. "So," she said casually, "Who's first?"


	10. Chapter 10: 001's Story

Why? Why did her past always have to return, when she least expected it? XANA, her creator, was gone, dead… how could he send a message to Mira?

She clutched her head in her hands, groaning. She didn't usually let such emotional turmoil engulf her, but she was aware that keeping it bottled up could result in her insanity. Artificial though she was, she was still a human. XANA revealed that even he, or rather as she later found out, she was once human.

Those first days came back to her, the whole reason she was set on making her mark on the world. No imbecile like Mira and her pesky gang were about to stop her.

Even so, the images came back to her, and she couldn't stop them from playing like a movie in her head…

* * *

The voice came first. It was always teaching her, feeding her information incomprehensible to normal human minds. She absorbed the data hungrily, always eager to learn more, to know how to survive.

It went like that for a long time. Then the voice got impatient. It went silent, and put something in her. After that happened, there was an explosion of knowledge in her head. If she could have, she would have rocked back and forth, sobs issuing from her, but she didn't yet have the physical capabilities. The information hurt, it hurt her so much…

After what felt like years, she finally got over her shock and absorbed the entire lot of it. She knew things that would make Albert Einstein envious… things that would make people scream with agony if they knew. Her mind became cold and calculating, since that was the only way to survive the onslaught of information.

She understood every component of XANA and its former home, Lyoko. She knew how the towers worked, every tiny detail of the surge of energy into the real world. She understood XANA's intention for her. She did not mind it.

At least, not at first.

She slowly became aware that she was becoming part of the concept of solidity. A new world of sensations overcame, and soon she realized that she was curled up in a fetal position, within a tank full of sickly green liquid. She finally opened her eyes for the first time, able to notice every little detail around her.

The only thing regarding her was a strange eye, which showed up on every computer screen in the room. She already knew what it was: XANA, the multi-agent system that had engineered her body.

He had enhanced it quite a bit, making her physical capabilities far from normal. She later became aware that the sudden, excruciating burst of data in her head was the insertion of a computer chip's data into her brain. As her body had still been developing, she did not yet have the willpower to stop the information from entering her mind. Now she had will, and she had another of her silent conversations with her maker.

Normally, she simply sent him a flow of thought, but she wanted to be able to form words.

_My purpose in this world is wipe out the natural humans that so trouble you, is that it?_ she asked.

He sent her a message of affirmation. She was not satisfied.

_If that is so, why did you give me a will?_

Sudden danger, threat, anger with her.

_You gave me the knowledge. You have no one to blame but yourself. When will I be able to leave these confines?_

An image of the sun setting seven times appeared in her head.

_The growing process was sped up. How old is my physical body, by normal standards?_

13. The number was actually its voice this time.

_Do I look odd, for most humans?_

Again, a message of affirmation. It sent an image, of a crowd of natural humans, most of which had shades of black, brown, blond, or red hair, with blue, brown, gray, or green eyes. Then an image of her own appearance, showing long messy snow-white hair and yellow eyes.

_Is this meant to intimidate my future opponents?_

Affirmative, the voice growled.

_Say something else, will you?_

XANA was taken aback, she could tell. Being a computer program, it didn't mind doing the same thing over and over again.

She withdrew into her own thoughts, not wanting to converse any longer. XANA attempted to intrude into her mind, but she blocked his tendrils of thought easily, deflecting them without trouble.

So, only one month, and she was already a teenager. She found that, because of her will developing much later than her intelligence, she was shocked by her subservience. She, possibly the most powerful human in existence, was going to be used by a virus. Did she want that?

No. She wanted to be the one who had servants. Her perfect white teeth were shown in a feral smile, and her eyes flashed. XANA was a fool to think she would obey it.

Still… she had to be careful. If there was anything XANA was not, it was stupid.

* * *

Anger. Confusion. Disappointment, all attributes that radiated from her creator. She was still absorbing information, finding out as much of the current world as possible, when she sensed its anger.

She sent it a question, and received a picture almost like a movie, those things that played moving footage. She saw the interior of Lyoko, watching while William, XANA's other servant, attempted to dump Aelita Schaeffer into the digital sea. She smirked slightly; XANA was looking for Franz Hopper, this she knew, but she also knew exactly where the computer genius was. She was choosing, for the moment, not to give XANA the information. How could it not know? It had been so very simple to find him…

_Can I actually use my body now?_ she asked, irritably.

XANA didn't send her any answer, except that the tube slowly drained of green liquid. Stella breathed in, her lungs taking in air that wasn't from a breathing tube. She stepped out, enjoying the new sensations she was capable of feeling. A thousand different odors tickled her nose, sounds came from everywhere. Before, she was only ever capable of receiving thought, so using these senses was… eye-opening, to say the least.

She spotted clothing; learning about modern culture told her that it was not wise to appear in public without proper garments. All they were was a pair of faded Bermuda shorts and a shirt that said ACDC. She pulled the garments on.

She looked around, seeing what she wasn't able to see before, trapped within the tank. There were pipes overhead. She decided it was time to test her physical abilities. She jumped up, easily grabbing one of the pipes. Hanging from it, she wasn't really sure what to do next, and she simply let go, falling into a crouch.

She thought she heard a snigger from behind her. She twitched her ears, sending out thought tendrils. She sensed XANA's impudent servant, William, behind her.

"Be careful; I didn't engineer you to be a monkey."

She turned around to face him. She realized that she wasn't overly tall; this natural human was a few inches higher. She sized him up, analyzing him, and knew at once why XANA had decided it needed a servant like her instead. However, she did not show contempt, merely murmuring, "Master."

She knew this would make him happy enough, and so risked adding, "Does that boy's attitude affect you while you speak through him?"

"Somewhat. His mind is actually quite amusing, however. Full of thoughts of his beloved Yumi."

She stared at him, as a picture of Yumi Ishiyama popped up in her mind. She knew all about the Japanese girl, including her feelings for Ulrich Stern. She smirked, pushing her tendrils of though forward until she could sense William's true mind, trapped within XANA's darkness. _She will never love you,_ she said to him, enjoying the denial and anger that surged through him. _Fool._

She retreated to find XANA-William staring at her in anger. "I did not tell you to speak with him directly."

Ignoring this, she said, "I need a name."

She had wanted one ever since discovering that humans named their children, in order to make them seem more unique. She wanted her name to be something that stood out. She was perfectly aware that XANA would not like it.

"You want a name," XANA-William corrected. "You do not need one, and therefore will not get one."

She wondered why XANA had teleported William here, when it would only distract Belpois and his gang and lead them to it.

"Good question," XANA-William responded. He took his Zweihander, and promptly stabbed himself. She could still feel XANA's presence.

_What will you call me, then?_ she asked.

The multi-agent system didn't give it much thought. Since she was something new, it simply called her, '001'.

001 took an instant dislike to the name. She knew what common names of natural humans were, and liked how they sounded. There was one in particular that she favored: Cynthia, though for her it seemed a tad too… cute.

William came again, several times. He taught her the basics of combat, which was really a waste of time. She had practiced simulations in her mind before finally being allowed out of the tank. She pretended to be a worse fighter than him, not wanting XANA to fear her and, therefore, give him an initiative to destroy her. 001 wanted nothing more than to leave and begin her own journey, but she knew that XANA had to be crippled first.

She began working, whenever she could not sense XANA's presence. This was normally when he was focusing on battling the Lyoko warriors, since he had to be in command of his monsters and William. He had returned one day, furious because William had almost slipped from his grasp.

001, meanwhile, was constructing an explosive, which would hopefully destroy the supercomputer that was here and ruin any chances of XANA finding her once she left. Making it was easy enough, even from the somewhat meager supplies within the lab. The problem was when she would detonate it.

001 had no intention of dying, and so wanted to be well clear before the explosion hit. She made it a timed bomb, but knew that XANA could just activate a tower on the Replica to stop the detonation.

So, with her calculating mind already working, she formulated a plan.

* * *

Jeremie was pulling another all-nighter. He knew that Aelita would be worried about him and berate him in the morning, but the Skid's shields needed updating. After their last trip to the Sector Five Replica, he didn't want to take any chances.

He sighed, adjusting his glasses before typing in another equation. He was just on the brink of powering up the shields, when an alert showed up on the holoweb system.

"Huh?" he muttered, clicking on it. "What's this?"

It quickly turned out to be the location of another Replica, and the scans showed that XANA had had a lot of activity there. He had activated towers almost every day, for some unknown purpose.

Jeremie frowned. He hadn't just picked up on this Replica by chance. Someone had sent him the coordinates. He knew that it could be a trap, just to lure the Skid in, but they'd have to risk it. The Replicas needed to be destroyed.

Who could it be, though? He wondered if maybe it was Franz Hopper… shrugging, he marked the spot on the holoweb, before closing the window and returning to the Skid protection program. They would investigate the Replica tomorrow.

* * *

Stella smirked. So far, her plan was going perfectly… and XANA didn't have a clue.

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," said Yumi, folding her arms. "We were going to test the Skid's shields today… but now we're going to go destroy a Replica instead?"

Jeremie nodded. "That's pretty much what I said."

"You know, Einstein, you've been changing your mind a lot lately," commented Odd. "Maybe you should stop pulling all-nighters."

Jeremie rolled his eyes at the irrepressible blond. "I can't sleep, Odd. The more I do, the more time I give XANA to counterattack."

"Well, I don't see the harm in checking out the Replica," Aelita commented. "We need to destroy them, after all."

Jeremie beamed at her, getting that back flip in his stomach- the one he always got when Aelita agreed with him.

"I agree," said Ulrich. "Might as well get it over with."

"What's with all the doom-and-gloom Ulrich?" asked Odd. There was a grin on his face that suggested he was about to say something unnecessary. "Just cuz Yumi still insists that you guys stay friends…"

"ODD!" yelled Ulrich, getting redder in the face than a tomato. Out of the corner of his eye, Jeremie saw Yumi blush too.

"Just get to the scanner room," he said, feeling slightly amused by the scene.

Odd and Ulrich were still bickering as they headed for the elevator, and Odd said to Ulrich, "I heard you muttering in your sleep the other night…"

Jeremie smiled slightly at Ulrich's loud protest.

"All right, guys," he said, attaching the headset to his ear. "Ready for this?"

"Ready Jeremie," said Aelita.

"Okay then. Ladies first." He paused then. "You okay, Faustina? You've been a little bit quiet today."

Faustina's voice- tough, but also tired- replied, "I'm fine, Jeremie. Let's just get this over with."

"You're as cheerful as Ulrich," grumbled Odd.

"Knock it off, Odd," said Jeremie. "Transfer, Yumi. Transfer, Faustina. Transfer, Aelita… Scanner… virtualization!"

* * *

Aelita landed as lightly as she could, turning to her two female companions. Yumi wore what she had worn for quite a while- the dark red fighting suit, decorated with pink flowers here and there. Faustina wore her more recent outfit as well- a light blue suit, complete with a small, darker blue sheath for her rocket dagger. Not that Faustina really needed it, of course. Her dirty blond hair was up in a blue clip, held there quite firmly. Aelita winced at seeing Faustina's icy blue eyes on her; they briefly turned into XANA's symbol.

This didn't alarm Aelita. Ever since the brief fusion that Faustina had been an idiot to attempt… her eyes did that sometimes, when she was in a bad mood.

She looked around, noticing that they were in Sector Five, as Ulrich and Odd materialized above them. Aelita was forced to duck away in order to avoid having them fall on top of her.

"Alright, the elevator is waiting," said Jeremie.

"On our way, Jeremie," she replied. She noticed Odd sidle up to Faustina as they ran.

"So," he said casually, the mischievous grin on his face. "Were you sore when I was talking about Ulrich and Yumi?"

All he got in response was an elbow in the gut. Odd doubled over, wheezing, while Faustina scowled at him. "That's in the past, Odd," she snapped.

Odd started running again. "You're right," he commented. He winked at Faustina. "You've moved on now, haven't you?"

"You could say that…" Faustina murmured. Aelita heard the pain in her voice, and decided to intervene.

"Odd, Faustina's been through enough without you bugging her about love interests," she said. Once Odd shrugged and ran on ahead, Aelita muttered to Faustina, "We'll get William back, Faustina."

They had arrived at the elevator; Faustina's eyes flashed the symbol again. "We'd better," she growled. "I've just about had it with… her."

"_It_, Faustina. How many times do I have to tell you?" asked Aelita, rolling her eyes. "XANA made the full transformation into a multi-agent system. Any humanity it had before is gone now."

Levels whizzed by while they were on the elevator, until they disembarked and made it to where the Skid was docked. Aelita stood on the middle portal, while the others took their places on the other four panels.

"Ready for teleporting?" called Jeremie. "Here we go."

The five of them vanished, reappearing within the unusual submarine christened the Skidbladnir by Aelita and Faustina. The two had insisted upon it, stating that whenever Faustina came over to Aelita's house, Franz would read the books about it to them. Aelita directed the Skid out into the digital sea, on their way to the Replica. Little did she know that they would change the future that day.

* * *

001 sensed them on their way; it wouldn't be long before she could put her plan into action. She probed them, sensing their minds- though she recoiled from the cold and hardened mind of Faustina. She couldn't help it; that girl was even more 'messed up' than her. Why she even had friends was beyond 001. She was also partly afraid because she felt a sadistic side to the naturally born girl. A side that enjoyed pain… a side that was a remnant of XANA, she now realized.

She smirked; it would, she admitted, be interesting if she fought that girl. She wasn't sure who would end up surviving. However, she couldn't waste time playing games. They were arriving at the Replica now, and it was time to begin.

* * *

Odd would never admit it, but he felt a little seasick as the Skid docked at a tower. They were in a mountain Replica, and the pairs for teleportation had already been chosen: he, Aelita, and Faustina would be going to destroy the supercomputer, while Ulrich and Yumi would stay behind on guard duty.

"Teleportation!" called Jeremie, and Odd held his breath while he vanished. Next thing he knew, he was standing in the middle of a pine forest. He breathed in the tang of the trees, before following Faustina and Aelita into the forest.

"Where's the complex, Jeremie?" asked Aelita.

"It's underground," Jeremie replied. "Hang on a second while I download the schematics."

The three of them stood there. Odd tapped his foot, impatient to begin. Aelita was still, calmly waiting for Jeremie to reply, while Faustina stood rigid, anger flashing in the form of XANA's symbol in her eyes.

"It's here," she hissed. "And it's incredibly angry… and afraid. But not of us. Of something… else." She groaned suddenly, cradling her head in her arms.

Aelita looked at her, concerned. "Are you alright?" she asked. She brushed some of her pink hair behind her ear.

Faustina looked up and glared at her. "I'm fine," she growled. "XANA's just active is all." When Aelita opened her mouth to say something else, she added, "And don't start rebuking me for doing what I did! What's done is done."

"Cat fight!" crowed Odd.

"Knock it off, you guys; I've got the layout," said Jeremie.

"Great; where's the entrance?" asked Faustina, hiding any more discomfort. Odd took a close look at the girl, but her eyes were the usual ice blue. XANA's symbol no longer flashed there. She looked a lot calmer, almost normal, but… Odd knew that she had learned how to hide her pain.

"Just a few feet away from you, actually. It looks similar to the entrance to the sewers back in the park at Kadic."

Aelita was already pulling off the cover. Odd came over next to her and peered down into the entrance. "Huh," he said, folding his arms. "Doesn't look like much."

"Wrong, Odd," said Jeremie. "This place is enormous; you'll need me to guide you."

Odd shrugged, thinking that he could probably find the way on his own. Still, he followed Aelita and Faustina down the ladder without complaint.

He was surprised to find himself in a hallway, lit up by electronic lights up ahead. The hall stretched away in either direction, and Odd was only just able to make out the ends of the tunnel. Gulping, he realized that he was wrong, but as always, he would never admit it.

* * *

They were in the lab, and XANA knew it by now. She knew that he'd sent monsters to attack the Skidbladnir, but 001 could still feel XANA's presence. She also sensed the presence of Odd Della Robbia, Aelita Schaeffer, and Faustina Warblin.

001 walked through the hallway, holding the bomb loosely in her hand. She was calm; XANA was not yet aware of what she was planning, since she wasn't in his sight yet.

That point was coming up. Soon, she'd be in his full view, and he'd know that she was planning to cripple him.

Not that there was really anything he could do about it.

She turned into the supercomputer room, easily disabling the security measures with a thought. She attached the bomb to the interface, setting the time for ten minutes. Long enough for her to escape, not long enough for XANA to activate a tower and get rid of it.

She turned around again, to find its eye all over. Rage that was not her own pulsed through her, and she sensed him activating a tower.

Her lips parted in a snarl; there was no way he would be able to deactivate that bomb… unless…

Just like that, William materialized in front of her.

* * *

"Huh?" yelled Ulrich, as his Katana swept through nothing but air. "I know William was right here!"

"He seems to have disappeared," Yumi called from where she was fighting off two tarantulas. "Don't worry about it; we've got bigger problems!" She yelped as a laser hit her in the leg.

* * *

001 didn't hesitate. She ran forward, somersaulting over William easily, just as he was about to lunge with his Zweihander. It threw him off balance, and she delivered a kick to his backside as she was coming down. He flew into the wall, crumpling to the floor for a while.

She ran for it, knowing that she had minutes to escape the complex. She heard footsteps behind her, and whirled around in time to see William slash at her. She side-stepped smoothly; it was almost too easy. She laughed chillingly when she saw the shock on William's face.

The next move she made was to karate chop right into a nerve bundle on the arm that held the Zweihander. It clattered to the floor, while William's arm hung limply at his side. She grabbed his throat with her other hand, lifting him up into the air.

001 sent an electrical shock pulsing through XANA-William, paralyzing him. He glared at her through drooping eyelids, and she eyed him with cold disdain.

"Did you really think I'd let you control me?" she hissed. "Well, think again! I will have a name of my own, and my name will be known. I already have it picked out: Stella Zireau."

With those words, she threw him against the wall without much effort; still conscious, he slumped to the floor, unable to move thanks to the shock he'd received. She took hold of the Zweihander on the floor, throwing it so that it stabbed him in the heart.

She watched him spark like crazy, shaking her head. "Goodbye, XANA," she muttered. "And good riddance."

She headed for the exit once again, relieved that she no longer thought of herself as 001, but instead as Stella.

* * *

Faustina was concentrating; XANA seemed to be distracted, which was perfect for them. Jeremie had just told them that there was an activated tower, but for now that wasn't a big deal. They were heading for the supercomputer room, hoping to destroy it. Faustina had had to use her double-bladed weapon to send Aelita back to the Replica, so that she could deactivate the tower.

She paused at one hallway, were she thought she heard a moan. Glancing to the right, she was shocked to see William on the floor, sitting upright against the wall. His Zweihander was embedded in his chest, and he was slowly dissolving away.

"William?" she whispered. He looked up at her, surprise flaring in his XANA hooded eyes. Faustina glanced further down the hallway, where she thought she saw someone run around a corner.

"Hey!" she called, but the person didn't stop. She looked back at where William had been sitting, but he had already dissolved.

"Faustina!" She turned to see Odd waving at her from the main corridor. "Are you gonna stand there all day?"

In answer, she ran over to him. "Just shut up, and let's go."

"Right behind you," he replied. He glanced at her. "By the way, what were you doing over there?"

Faustina sighed. "Nothing. I just thought I saw something… that's all." Still, she couldn't help but wonder what XANA-William was doing there- and just who was good enough to beat him with his own weapon?

"Hey- the tower's been deactivated," said Jeremie. "That's odd… I guess he wasn't targeting you. Anyway, the computer room is up ahead."

Odd got there ahead of me, but froze in the doorway. I tried to push past him, but he blocked the way.

"Umm… Jeremie?" he said, sounding nervous. "Not for nothing, but there's a bomb in here. Right in front of the supercomputer."

"WHAT?" cried Jeremie. "Clearly, someone wants XANA gone just as much as we do."

Faustina remembered the person who'd run from her, but opted out of saying anything about them. Instead, she suggested, "Well, maybe we should just let the bomb take its toll, huh? Jeremie, get us out of here; we've only got three minutes."

"Uh… okay, but it'll take some time."

Faustina closed her eyes, tapping her foot. Apart from spotting the mysterious person, the trip was not all that exciting.

* * *

Stella stared, on a hill some distance away. She knew that she could simply disappear after this; XANA would never find her.

"Five… four…" she murmured.

* * *

Faustina breathed a sigh of relief as she and Odd rematerialized inside their Nav-skids. "Talk about a close one, Einstein." The bomb had had three seconds left, when Jeremie was finally able to pull them back. Sure, she might act tough, but even she didn't like being blown up.

"Well guys, mission accomplished," he said; everyone was back on board the Skid, and the Replica was vanishing. "Time to head home…"

* * *

Stella opened her eyes again. She was breathing surprisingly hard, as though she'd just run a marathon. She noticed that she was now leaning against the wall, and was trying to suppress a wave of nausea that enveloped her.

She shook herself; reliving and accepting her past was difficult, but the rewards were great. She would no longer be dwelling on her memories, and she'd be able to focus on the here and now.

"Got a migraine?" someone asked quietly. She stiffened, hatred welling up in her, as well as a desire to eliminate that voice. She looked up, noticing the black-haired girl flinch as she met her eyes.

Mira's emerald eyes flashed in a challenge. She stared at Stella, tilting her head to the side. Stella returned the stare, putting no emotion into the look. Eventually, Mira turned slowly and left, probably heading to fill her needs for food and water.

Stella straightened up. She whirled around and strode away in the opposite direction, wondering how much Mira had seen. One day, she would get what she wanted- and she would take care of Mira, just as she'd taken care of XANA. Her creator. The one who originally named her 001.


	11. Chapter 11: What Else Is New

Teralyn skipped out of class, feeling unusually cheerful. Today was sign-ups for the intramural basketball tournament, which would start the next week. She couldn't wait to kick butt, hopefully with her three friends alongside her.

She was the star basketball player of Kadic, but Mira, Adam, and Tom were all pretty decent as well. Fighting Stella had actually helped in that respect; they were all a little more athletic than before.

Teralyn was crossing the courtyard, heading for the lunchroom when she noticed someone enter the school grounds. She frowned slightly; she could've sworn that she'd seen that girl somewhere before. She walked quickly, staring straight ahead, and had dirty blond hair with ice blue eyes. She was lugging along a red suitcase behind her.

Teralyn was about to keep walking, when a shout stopped. There was a flash of purple as Odd Della Robbia flew past her, shouting at the top of his lungs, "FAUSTINA!"

Several more persons sprinted past her, all piling on top of the girl in a giant group hug, started by Odd. Teralyn chuckled at the sight of the tenth graders, all grinning widely, with Faustina having the biggest smile of them all.

"You're finally back!" cried Aelita Stones, hugging Faustina once again. Now Teralyn understood; it was common knowledge that Faustina Nelland had gone on a long trip to the United States, funded by Kadic. Judging by her friends' reactions to being back, she was sorely missed.

They all stood there- Ulrich offering to carry her luggage (Teralyn wondered why Yumi didn't have a problem with that), Sissi actually talking sense to her- which was a high honor- Odd grinning at her, his arm around Sissi; Yumi clapping her on the shoulder, Jeremie just following the rest with a small smile on his face.

William Dunbar hadn't run out with the rest of them; he waited, leaning on one of the pillars. As Faustina and her 'guard of honor' neared, Teralyn noticed the two exchange small, knowing smiles. It was known that the two had a relationship, though it wasn't obvious. They hardly ever kissed; they didn't even hold hands that often. Mostly they simply seemed to enjoy each others' company, but it was clear that their understanding of one another was far deeper than normal.

Teralyn smirked a little. _Love is in the air…_ she thought, noticing Ulrich and Yumi holding hands. More students were staring in the direction of the group, curious about the reunion. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Stella staring as well. The white haired girl didn't stay long, however; she swiveled around and entered the dorm.

"Hey! Teralyn!" called Mira, running over and waving. Her eyes traveled over to the original Lyoko warriors, widening slightly. "Isn't that Faustina Nelland? I thought she was in the States."

Teralyn shrugged. "I guess she's back."

"William looks happy to see her."

"Really?" asked Teralyn. "I can never tell with them."

"Oh, he's glad all right," said Mira, smirking. "They're practically making out with their eyes."

Teralyn shifted her gaze to stare at Mira. She didn't get how her friend knew others that well. Her own mind went in an unbidden direction, once again seeing the picture of Yumi and Ulrich holding hands.

She felt as though a light bulb was lighting up above her head. Her eyes widened slightly, and she almost laughed out loud.

The gang had been a little lighthearted these past few weeks. Stella had been going unusually easy on them, and their challenges had settled into a routine. There was just an attack yesterday- surely she could get up to some trouble…

Teralyn had seen how Adam and Mira glanced at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking. She felt a smirk coming and suppressed it, not wanting Mira to be suspicious.

Yup. It was time to play matchmaker.

* * *

Mira watched the reunion between all the old friends. She didn't see how Teralyn couldn't tell if William and Faustina were happy to see each other. It was way too clear, in her mind.

An unbidden thought rose up into her mind: _Would Adam be that happy to see me?_

She shook it off at once, telling herself that it didn't matter right then. She could not focus on that.

So she turned back to Teralyn- who was staring straight at her.

"What?" she asked, suddenly feeling nervous. Whenever Teralyn had that look on her face, it meant she was up to no good.

Teralyn turned away. "Oh, nothing," she said lightly. "Let's get lunch."

They headed to the cafeteria, Mira a little suspicious of Teralyn. The tall redhead didn't look at her, just focused on their destination. Mira looked around to see if Adam or Tom were hurrying to join them, but there was no sign of the two; either they were late, or they were already in the lunch room.

The latter turned out to be true. Mira and Teralyn got their lunches and sat by them as usual. Both Tom and Adam turned around in surprise when Faustina and her friends entered.

"So, she's finally back then?" asked Tom, his blue eyes now focusing on Mira.

Mira shrugged. "Guess so, although Teralyn's mainly the one who saw it."

His head tilted slightly, his gaze now on Teralyn. Mira thought she saw a tiny bit of red creep onto her face, but she sounded normal enough when she said, "I didn't see much; just everything in a giant group hug. Nothing… significant."

They all knew that the entire group (minus Sissi) had been a part of the Lyoko warriors. Ever since finding out, however, there had been nothing to suggest it. Mira had found herself observing them from afar, but from what she saw, they never really talked about it.

"I wonder how Faustina and William were suddenly just… together?" commented Adam. "One day they were just friends, then another and they're dating."

"It might have something to do with Lyoko," said Mira. "I haven't been able to get much information on Faustina from Jeremie's diary… but I do know that William was imprisoned by XANA for months. Jeremie had to make a clone for him."

"Oh, so that's why he was acting like a total wack-job for a while?" asked Teralyn.

Mira nodded.

"Why isn't there information on Faustina?" said Tom.

"Something about Faustina requesting that anything about her not be included in his journal."

As if reading each others' minds, all four of them glanced at Faustina. She was chatting and laughing, looking perfectly normal to them. Mira narrowed her eyes, wondering if the girl was just putting on a façade, to fool others into thinking that she was happy. This suspicion was confirmed when she and William exchanged a look of what looked like bitter-sweetness.

She was about to turn away to announce the news of one of her projects to the others, when Faustina turned her head and met her eyes.

It was like looking into a pool of pure ice- the stare sent chills down Mira's spine. Few people were able to exact such a feeling of foreboding when meeting Mira's eyes, but Faustina did. Her expression sent a message: I do not trust you.

Mira did her best to stay calm, and sent another message back: That's none of my concern. Faustina looked away then, and Mira felt a sense of triumph. She was glad to be out from under Faustina's scrutiny. There was only one other person who had that effect on people, and that was Stella.

"So," she said, directing everyone else's attention back to her, "I'm getting closer on my program to stop Stella. I just need a little more data on her from the lava sector."

Adam groaned. "It feels like we've been to the lava sector a million times this week. Can't we take a vacation on the beach by the digital sea or something?"

Mira glared at him, folding her arms. He coughed. "Well, uh, I guess it doesn't need to be now…" he muttered.

Tom looked thoughtful. "Adam does bring up a good point though; we've been to the lava sector a lot lately."

Mira shifted, aware that everyone's eyes were on her. "Well, we need to beat Stella!" she stuttered. "We're this close to it…"

Teralyn studied her closely. "Have you been going OCD on this again?" For some reason, she didn't seem too concerned about it. Instead, she looked almost thoughtful.

Mira stiffened; the last time she'd gone 'OCD' on them, she'd ended up with Internet addiction courtesy of Stella Zireau. It had also ended with a rather upsetting argument with her friends… and a walk back to her dorm with Adam…

No. Not thinking about that, she thought. She, again, had more important things to do.

Teralyn was watching her with a smirk on her face. Mira shook herself, glared at her redhead friend, and stood.

"I'm going back to my room for a bit, before the afternoon classes start," she said curtly. She gathered up her things, striding away from the table. She could feel Teralyn's eyes still on her, and couldn't shake the feeling that she was up to something.

Teralyn stared at Mira's retreating back. She needed cheering up, in Teralyn's opinion. Tom and Adam turned to each other and started discussing fighting tactics that they'd been coming up with.

She leaned forward. "Hey, Tom," she muttered. "Meet me by the garden shed later. Bring your Masquerade stuff." With that she stood up, ignoring the puzzled look Tom was giving her.

Class didn't start for another half an hour, but Teralyn headed in the direction of the locker rooms anyway. She had nothing better to do; her plan couldn't be set into motion until later. She ran her fingers through her ponytail, sighing. In that moment, she wondered what life would be like without Lyoko.

They wouldn't be constantly skipping out on classes to stop Stella's attacks. Mira wouldn't constantly have dark circles around her eyes and be worn out from staring at a computer screen all night. Stella would only be an annoying girl they avoided. They wouldn't be wondering about the original Lyoko warriors, or constantly having to avoid them for fear they would find out what they were up to. Mira wouldn't need to take even more time out of her schedule for computer lessons.

There was so much in their lives… so much that they could've been doing, and missed out on. Teralyn wondered if any of them really actually had time for intramural basketball. Now she understood why Jeremie and his friends never talked about Lyoko. It was because they wanted to move on from it, and not have to dwell. The ordeal that Mira, Teralyn, Adam, and Tom had right then, though… they couldn't stop, until Stella was beaten.

Teralyn blinked; she suddenly found herself standing in front of her gym locker. The overwhelming urge to just run away from it all and forget had never been as strong as it was then.

* * *

Mira was typing away furiously. The configuration of Stella's connection to Lyoko was tricky to figure out, but it was slowly coming together. The real problem was how make it useless. It would take an enormous amount of energy they didn't have. Mira was afraid they would have to keep a conduit activated constantly. She hoped it didn't have to come to that.

Her Rocket Boot program was almost complete. She wanted to surprise her friends though, and had decided to wait until they had a day off. Namely, next Saturday- provided that there was no attack.

"So… any major progress?"

Mira whirled around to see Adam leaning against the doorframe. She smiled at him, not bothering to keep the tiredness out of her expression. "Sorta… it's about as difficult as I expected it to be."

"Which is…?"

"Seemingly impossible."

"You'll get there," he said firmly, heading over to stand next to her. He sounded as though he believed it. Mira felt slightly better for his support, but that didn't stop the fact that she wasn't ready to launch the program yet. She sighed audibly.

He looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he said, "You remember when I first came to Kadic?"

Mira scowled at him. "Vaguely. I seem to recall that you called me by the wrong names on purpose. It was always Mina, or Moira, and I think you even had the nerve to call me Marge, once. You were such a jerk, too," she added, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

He grinned at her. "Yup. You sure hated me." He nudged her a little. "But in the end, we won each others' respect, didn't we?"

Mira nodded, fighting to keep a blush off her face at being right next to him. There was an awkward silence for a little bit, with Mira drumming her fingers on the keyboard and Adam shuffling his feet. He glanced at the screen, unable to understand any of the data on it.

Mira jumped slightly as Jim's voice came on the announcements. "Attention all students! Today is the sign up for intramural basketball teams. Captains, report to the gym with your entire team to register now. You will be excused the first ten minutes of class."

Adam walked back over to the door, making a mock bow and gesturing towards the door. "Ladies first," he said, smiling slightly.

"Don't mind if I do," said Mira mock bowing back. They headed for the gym, side by side. Mira was glad that, of all people, Adam was the one to support her now.

* * *

Tom sighed and shook his head, seeing Teralyn in her gym uniform. She still had that evil grin on her face, and he couldn't help but wonder: what is she up to?

Of course, he would still meet her by the garden shed after class, but he was slightly scared. Whenever Teralyn got that look on her face, all of her friends had learned to run far away.

"Basketball sign-ups!" chirped Teralyn bouncing up and down. "I've barely been able to wait for this. Especially if it involves kicking Gary's butt."

"I'm with you there, Teralyn. No one deserves it more than him."

Teralyn turned to where Mira had just come up. Adam walked next to her, looking just as excited as Teralyn. He put a hand on Mira's shoulder and squeezed; Tom chuckled when he noticed Mira's face turn bright crimson. Teralyn, after noticing this, smiled mischievously again.

Tom had a funny feeling that he knew exactly what the redhead was planning. She turned to the sign up table and headed over, her ponytail swinging slightly. Tom watched her, until Adam waved his hand in front of his face.

"Earth to Tom?" he said, waggling his eyebrows. "We do not need you staring at your crush's behind."

It took a few moments for Tom to realize just what his friend had said.

"Say that again, and you're dead," he hissed, glaring. Mira smirked before following Teralyn over to the table. Adam went along behind her, Tom bringing up the rear- and adding in a good kick to the back of Adam's shin for good measure.

Jim sat behind the table, already looking bored. Anything that didn't involve punishing students seemed to bore him, Tom noticed. The line was surprisingly long; many kids played basketball, but Tom didn't know it was this many.

At last, Teralyn got to the front. "State your name, the names of your teammates, and your team name."

Teralyn cleared her throat, straightening up. "Teralyn Vohn, Mira Anderson, Adam Polanka, Tom Saratra. We're the Scorpions."

They had decided to call themselves the scorpions, after Stella's latest monster- mainly because the four of them had had a massive battle against them recently in the lava sector. Tom remembered the satisfaction of plunging his daggers into the bugs, and shuddered from the memory. He didn't want to turn into a bloodthirsty fighter.

Jim nodded, waving Teralyn aside. "Next."

Teralyn shrugged at the rest of them. "I have to stay here; gym class, you know?"

Adam headed to the locker room to change, as he was in Teralyn's class. Mira left for the history room, while Tom went to the music department.

The rest of the day went by without a hitch. He finally managed to perfect his violin solo, knew some of the questions in his English class, and managed to avoid a confrontation with Gary. As he had agreed, he headed for the garden shed, not really caring who saw him.

He glanced around, before pulling out his black hoodie and the grinning, trademark mask of his. He turned to Teralyn. "So, what's this about?" he asked.

She gave another sinister grin, and Tom gulped a bit. He hoped that whatever she was planning, it had nothing to do with him.

"I'm setting Mira and Adam up."

Tom waited a few moments, letting this wash over them. Then he just sighed, and shook his head.

"It'll never work," he said. "Mira and Adam are too smart for that."

Teralyn frowned slightly, placing her hands on her hips. "Why not?" she asked. "A blind rabbit could see that they like each other!"

"First of all, they're both too proud to admit it, and second of all, a blind rabbit?"

She scowled at him. "Can you think of anything better?"

Tom shrugged.

"All I need is to borrow your Masquerade stuff," she said, snatching it away. "Otherwise, I'll claim full responsibility if it doesn't work out."

Tom shrugged. "It's your funeral," he said, turning around, preparing to head back to the dormitory. Before he did however, she grabbed his arm, beaming.

"Thanks Tom!" she exclaimed, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, before racing away across the courtyard, completely ignoring the looks several students gave her. Tom, however, just stood there.

Red in the face.

* * *

Mira was about to close her laptop, when the all-too-familiar beeping began.

She groaned. "That's exactly what I didn't need," she muttered, checking the scan. She noted that the conduit was in the space sector, before folding her computer and hurrying out the door.

She whipped out her cell phone, dialing Teralyn's number.

Teralyn sounded breathless as she answered. "Yeah?"

"Abnormal conduit. Space sector. Meet us at the sewer entrance in the park."

"Aw, man. I was just near there…" Mira hung up, not waiting to hear Teralyn complain.

As she ran out the door of the dorms, she was unaware of the pair of eyes on her.

* * *

Adam received Mira's phone call, and simply agreed to meet with the rest. Moments later, they were gathered around the manhole cover, preparing to enter the place with the mother of all stenches.

He reached down to lift off the cover…

"Going for a walk, are we?"

The four of them jumped, looking around wildly. Mira was the first to spot the newcomer, glancing up into a nearby tree.

Sitting on a low branch, eyes alight with suspicion and curiosity, was Faustina Nelland.

"I don't know what you mean," said Mira, looking innocent.

Faustina pushed her blond hair behind one ear, sighing. "Cut it out, Anderson. You know about Lyoko, and you're heading for the factory. It's obvious."

Mira stared at her, her face neutral for a few seconds. Then she said, quietly, "But do _you_ know what we're up against? Do you know what has changed?"

Faustina's eyes narrowed slightly, but she did look a little confused. The confusion was replaced by determination, as she jumped down from the tree. "I'm coming with you."

Mira shook her head. "You and the other Lyoko warriors have had enough to do fighting XANA. We can't ask you to ruin your own lives again."

"Mira's right," said Tom. "We've handled it so far."

Faustina looked at each of them in turn, as though sizing them up. He shuddered slightly as her ice blue eyes landed on him; he noticed that she had an intense stare that he usually only attributed to Mira and Stella.

"I'm coming with you," she repeated, glaring at them all. "You can't make my decisions for me."

Mira sighed, looking resigned. "Fine," she said crisply, turning around and lifting off the cover to the sewers. Her face was calm and expressionless, but Adam knew better. He knew that inside, she was panicking and frantically trying to come up with a way to solve this unexpected problem. He understood that much, and took her hand, giving it a small squeeze and trying to ignore the burning sensation he felt. She glanced at him, gratefulness in her emerald eyes, before heading down the ladder.

He gestured for the others to go in before him. The tension was palpable; Faustina was not welcome, and they all wanted her to know it. She seemed like she did know it, since her expression was hardened and almost apologetic. Normally, a tenth grader might have intimidated any number of eighth graders, but he and his friends had been through a lot lately, and could relate to her.

They skateboarded in silence, Faustina being forced to simply run along the passage. She caught up after a few minutes, slightly out of breath but otherwise okay.

No one spoke anything in the elevator, or even when they were headed down to the scanner room. Mira set up the delayed virtualization early on, with Faustina commenting that that was why Mira had been taking lessons from Jeremie.

They had all ignored this statement.

Adam closed his eyes, letting the sensation of being virtualized take over him. He felt himself whirling about, before darkness covered his eyes. As his vision adjusted, he could make out the mini planets and asteroids that made up the space sector.

There was a slight thump, and Faustina landed next to him. "Same sensation…" she murmured, before her eyes widened in astonishment.

"Where are we?" she exclaimed. "This isn't Lyoko!"

"Yes, it is," answered Mira, landing beside her. "Lyoko evolved since you shut it down. The sectors are a lot more… detailed than before."

"I'll say," muttered Faustina, looking around her.

She wore a light blue fighting suit, which had silver flames etched onto it. At her belt was… some kind of hilt; it reminded Adam of the hilt of Teralyn's lightwhip, except there was no extension. Her hair was in a ponytail, which was clipped up by a clip the same blue as her suit.

Adam couldn't help but notice that the blue was the same as her eyes.

* * *

Jeremie turned around in surprise as William entered the room. He looked slightly worried.

"Have either of you seen Faustina?" he asked, looking between Jeremie and Aelita. "I can't find her anywhere."

"Huh," said Aelita, frowning. "That's odd. Mira hasn't turned up at her lesson either, and she's always on time." Her brow was furrowed, and she scratched the side of her head. Then her eyes widened.

"You don't think"-

"That the reason Mira's been taking computer lessons is because she rediscovered Lyoko?" finished William.

Jeremie and Aelita looked at him in surprise. He shrugged.

"Well, it makes sense. Faustina probably found out and confronted them. And if she's not here…"

"Then it probably means that there's an attack," said Jeremie. "I wish I'd kept my computer's connection to Lyoko. Who knows how many attacks there's been? Huh, we might've even found out before, and just forgot about it."

"Why would the returns affect us?" asked Aelita. "We might be freaking out over nothing. Faustina could've forgotten to meet you, William- you know she gets distracted like that sometimes. Plus, Mira might have a lot of homework today, or she's off with her friends somewhere."

William winced a little. "Still… at least XANA isn't back."

Jeremie gave him a quizzical look. "How would you know?"

William gave him a dark look, which answered Jeremie's question for him.

Just then, the light bulb above them burst, fragments raining down on them. Aelita gave a little shriek, while William just slowly looked up at the light, blinking.

"Okay… any doubts I had vanished. Something- whether it's XANA or not- is attacking," said Aelita.

All around the school, light bulbs exploded. The school was plunged into darkness, and soon other electrical appliances were bursting as well.

"Oh no!" Jeremie breathed. "I know what's going on. Whoever planned this is causing every electrical appliance to overload. If that happens anywhere with gas, it'll cause an enormous explosion."

"That's… not good," said William.

* * *

Mira leaped from meteor to meteor, nimbly keeping her balance. Behind her, the rest of her friends (plus Faustina) followed in the same way. The conduit was near the bottom of the sector, and getting down there was like going down a giant staircase. She could hear her friends panting, and hoped they would still be in top form if they ran into trouble.

She turned around to survey them; Adam jumping easily, Teralyn and Tom having a bit more trouble. Faustina seemed even more capable than all of them, moving with a grace that could be deadly in a fight.

Mira had to admit that she could be useful to them, but she would still have to use Memory Block. It would be her first time testing out the program, and she fervently hoped that it worked.

Traveling through the space sector was never easy, but that day it seemed unusually harrowing. She could imagine the sweat on her brow, except Lyoko didn't generate virtual sweat. At least they weren't in the lava sector; she couldn't imagine what it would be like there. But then… they didn't have to climb through that area.

Mira spotted the conduit, wrapped in its red aura. Everything seemed quiet right then, and they cautiously approached.

"Why the carefulness?" asked Faustina at normal volume. "XANA's gone, isn't he?"

"Why would they care about XANA? They have to deal with me."

The five of them whipped around, Mira leaping over the rest to shield them. Stella, however, made no move, merely smirking at a spot behind Adam. He turned back, slowly, to see…

"Four scorpions and three wolves!" he groaned. "That does it."

Instantly he was karate-chopping, kicking, and punching left and right. Teralyn and Tom threw themselves into the fray as well, Teralyn igniting her lightwhip and Tom drawing his two daggers.

Mira pulled out her black sword, while Faustina unclipped her… weapon from her belt. She turned her icy glare on Stella. "Who are you?"

Stella stared at her, mock hurt on her face. "Oh, you mean you've never heard of the new student who everyone avoids? Stella Zireau?"

Faustina's eyes narrowed. "Actually, I think we've already met. Does the location of a laboratory in the Taiga Forest sound familiar to you?"

Mira looked between the two of them, completely confused. What were they talking about? If the old Team Lyoko had known about Stella, then why didn't they stop her?

Stella just smirked at Faustina. "So that was you, who came to find XANA's pathetic servant with his own sword stuck through him. I didn't think that you would be able to see me. Were you happy that I blew up the place of my creation? I bet you were, although no one wanted XANA gone more than me."

Faustina's eyes widened slightly. "Created?"

"She's artificial, and incredibly dangerous," muttered Mira. "Let me handle her."

Without hesitation, she leapt straight at Stella, feinting to the left before twisting it so that Stella's attempt to parry her attack threw her off balance. Mira instantly attempted a downward stroke to the head, but Stella placed one hand on the ground, kicking Mira in the face.

Mira found herself flying backwards; she hit the rock wall with an 'oof', the wind knocked out of her. Stella ran at her, leaning back to avoid a thrust from Mira. She swept her sword upward, about to slice through Mira.

"Flash dodge," muttered Mira, pleased to find herself on Stella's right. This time, however, Stella was ready; she whirled, blocking another of Mira's blows.

All of a sudden, Mira's head felt like it had exploded; she dropped to one knee, clutching at her forehead. There was no escape from the pain, the agony, and she screamed. She could just barely make out Stella swinging her white sword around, but she was paralyzed…

There was a clang of metal above her. Dimly, Mira saw Faustina beating back Stella, whirling her weapon in a flurry of blows, which Stella deflected easily. Mira let out another agonized scream, feeling the wave of pain roll through her entire body. She thought she heard Adam call her name, but all she could do was whimper in reply. It was all around her, her body was on fire, it hurt so much…

Then, abruptly, the pain ended. Mira blinked several times, before looking up. Stella and Faustina were fighting furiously. Stella's face was contorted into a snarl, while Faustina's eyes flashed XANA's symbol. Mira got a good look at her weapon, and realized that it was the hilt of an unusual sword. Two perfectly straight, thin blades stuck out about a foot and a half from either end, and Faustina held it with both hands- sometimes switching to one hand.

Mira found that, despite the speed at which both weapons were moving at, she could easily see them. Even the details were there. A bolt of cold clarity ripped through her, and she knew what to do.

As Stella made to slice Faustina's throat, Mira calmly inserted her blade in the space. Both Faustina and Stella turned their heads toward her, shock on their faces. Mira ducked underneath her blade and Stella's, while Faustina backed away. She kicked Stella's elbow; the white sword clattered from her grip, and Mira stabbed into the abdomen.

She realized why it had been so easy to defeat Stella; she'd fought too quickly for Stella to even make a move. Stella's yellow eyes met hers, and she thought she saw a flash of triumph in them before they vanished.

That acute awareness dimmed, and Mira found herself to be slightly dizzy. She swayed slightly, and fell to her knees.

"How…" She looked up to see Faustina staring at her. "I've never seen anyone fight like Stella… I was barely able to beat her back. But you took care of her like it was no big deal."

Mira just shook her head; she had no clue how she did it. The agony from earlier must've had something to do with her sudden ease when fighting.

She turned back to the conduit, still wrapped in its red glow. Teralyn, Adam, and Tom were all facing her, mouths open. Mira shivered a little; what had she looked like when she did that?

Her eyes met Tom's, and she saw understanding there. He turned around, heading for the conduit. Teralyn, however, called, "Wait."

Mira frowned a little. What did Teralyn want? Suddenly she realized, now aware of Faustina beside her.

Mira had appreciated all the help the girl had given them. She realized that, without her, she might not have been able to put a stop to Stella. Still, Faustina had a life now. A normal one, without constant trips to Lyoko. No one deserved to have that taken away from them.

"We need to devirtualize each other," she said to her.

Faustina looked at her questioningly. "Why?" she asked.

"There's something I need to check."

Faustina looked at her for a while. Mira told Tom to wait until she gave him the signal, and then faced Faustina. Faustina's weapon surprised her again; this time, only one blade came out of one end. They stabbed in unison, with Mira feeling herself dissolving back to reality.

She stumbled out of the scanner, straightening as the scanner on her left opened. Faustina panted a little.

Once in the computer lab, Mira activated Memory Block. She heard a small gasp behind her, and turned in surprise to see Faustina collapse to the floor.

"Huh," she muttered. "Well, that's an unexpected side effect. Go ahead, Tom."

"Roger that."

The white sphere obscured her vision…

* * *

Adam blinked in surprise as he read the letter.

_Dear Adam,_

_I can't stop thinking about you. Meet me behind the gym at five today. _

_Your Secret Admirer_

Adam didn't know he had a secret admirer. Just in case it was a trick by Gary, he'd be careful. He decided to take the letter with him.

When he arrived, he was shocked to find Mira standing there, clutching a similar note in her own grasp.

"A-Adam?" she stammered, taking a step back. She looked down at her note, and then saw the one he had. She snatched it before he could protest, her eyes quickly scanning it. He noticed that her cheeks were flaming, though she tried to act normal.

"We've been set up," muttered Mira, handing him back his letter without looking at him. Adam shuffled his feet, feeling incredibly embarrassed.

"Aww, come on!" came a shout from behind him. He whipped around to glare at Teralyn, who scowled at both of them. "You were supposed to, oh I don't know…"

"Teralyn," Mira interrupted. Her voice was cold. "You are one inch away from being killed by me."

Teralyn gulped, and ran for it. Mira ran after her, yelling, "Wait 'till I get my hands on you!"

Adam chuckled a little. "Teralyn's in big trouble," he murmured.


	12. Chapter 12: Frozen in Limbo

"Duck!" yelled Teralyn, barely managing to throw herself to the side of the lizard's dart. Adam didn't even bother to drop to the ground, instead merely muttering, "Reversal."

The arrow that had been aimed for him flew back at the greenish-yellow reptile, striking it in the eye. The screech that emanated from the creature was almost enough to make Adam cover his ears, before it pixilated away. He made a quick kick to the left, sending an energy crescent straight into a wolf that attempted to sneak up on him.

He glanced around him, over to where Tom stabbed over his shoulder, straight into the mouth of another wolf. His friend sheathed his two daggers, before heading over to Adam. "Wonder why they were so keen on attacking us?" he said.

"Who knows?" called Teralyn, lashing out with her whip and catching the lizard in the shoulder. She thumbed the switch on the lightwhip, wrapping the whip part around the hilt and reattaching it to her waist. "Any reasons, Mira?"

"Not that I know of," came Mira's disembodied voice. "It's not like we're trying to normalize the energy around here, so the appearance of some of Stella's monsters is a mystery to me."

"Maybe Stella just doesn't like us showing up here," said Adam, grinning a little. "Which is rude; that's no way to treat a guest."

Tom rolled his eyes. "Stella doesn't even own Lyoko, Adam," he said. "Even XANA has more claim to this place than she does, and that's saying something."

"Guys, just please head over to that weird signal I've been getting," said Mira, sounding exasperated. Teralyn opened her mouth to reply, but Mira cut her off. "And enough with the whole captain thing."

Teralyn scowled, but remained silent and ran off through the twilit clearing, over to another path that stretched away into the dense, multi-colored coral. The rest of them followed her, heading off in the direction of the anomaly. Adam wondered if the crazy thing was Stella's doing, or if it was something else entirely.

He looked up, barely able to make out the 'surface' of the sector through the intertwined coral. In some ways, he liked being in the reef sector; it often seemed almost calm, tranquil- the opposite of the stifling lava sector. At other times, however, it felt cold and lifeless- despite the coral growing all around. He dodged beneath a particularly vibrant purple strand hanging over him, and they turned a corner, revealing the source of the trouble.

It didn't appear to be anything special- just some glowing white orb. Teralyn motioned silently for Adam and Tom to stay behind her, before stepping forward carefully. She frowned at the light.

"It's some kind of… orb thingy," she called. "I'm sending you a visual now."

Mira remained silent for a moment, no doubt observing the oddity from the computer chair. "I can't say what it is," she said slowly. "I could try scanning it again, I suppose… just give me a minute."

Adam plopped down onto the coral below him, which was thick enough to provide a stable surface to sit on. He groaned, facts that he was supposed to know for his history test flashing through his head. Why they had to get up at four in the morning- four hours before school began- was a mystery to him. Mira had said it was important, but what was so important about a glowy thing?

"Be careful around that thing, guys," she cautioned. "It has something to do with time- I don't know what, though."

"Time, huh?" Adam responded. "Maybe we can control it with it." He reached out for the orb.

"You idiot, Adam!" yelled Teralyn, running forward to smack his hand away- but he had already come in contact with the anomaly.

For a moment, Adam's gray eyes widened in shock. His entire body began to glow with the essence of the thing. Both Teralyn and Tom covered their eyes, momentarily blinded by the light emitting from him, when both Adam and the orb vanished.

* * *

"What happened?" said Mira, panicking. She could no longer find Adam next to Teralyn and Tom, and she frantically searched for him on the holomap. A quick scan of the sector revealed that he was nowhere to be found. Placing her head in her hands, she groaned.

This is not happening, she thought.

"Adam kind of touched the glowing orb," said Tom. He sounded relatively calm, but there was nervousness in his voice as well. Mira could tell that he was worried for Adam. She also thought she heard Teralyn muttering about recklessness.

"We could do a manual search if you want," offered Tom. Mira wanted to, badly; however, one glance at her watch told her that it was impossible. School would begin soon, and Jim would no doubt have them all in detention if they were late.

"No," she said, unable to shake the feeling of defeat from herself. "We may as well get back to Kadic. Ready for materialization?"

"Go right ahead."

Fifteen minutes later found them in the courtyard, waiting for the first bell to ring. Mira held up her laptop, not caring about how tired her arm was from doing so. Try as she might, however, she just couldn't find Adam anywhere on Lyoko. For her, it was even worse than when they'd been unable to locate Teralyn after exploring the area around the digital sea.

The bell rang, and it seemed to taunt her. It said, 'Time's wasting…'

* * *

The scanner opened, and Adam stepped out, feeling unusually invigorated. Normally a devirtualization meant exhaustion afterwards, but this time was different.

The white orb must've somehow devirtualized him without depleting his lifepoints. He wasn't sure how that could happen, unless Mira had materialized him herself. He'd have to ask her about that when he got up to the computer room.

He pressed the elevator button; nothing happened. He tried several times, trying to get the thing to move, but only silence reigned. Sighing to himself, he headed over to the ladder rungs that were set in the wall, proceeding to climb up to the computer room.

As always, Mira was sitting at the computer, her hands on the keyboard. Her face was a mask of concentration, her eyes fixed on the screen. He strode over, surprised when she didn't turn to look at him in response. He was the tiniest bit disappointed as well.

Then he noticed that, though her fingers were on the keys, they weren't moving. He frowned, and then waved a hand in front of Mira's face. She didn't react at all; her eyes stayed right where they were. Adam began to freak out slightly at this. Was something wrong with her?

"What's going on?" he murmured. Deciding he'd better take a look outside, just to see if the world was still normal, he went back to the ladder and began climbing again.

Up, into the main area of the factory, up the rope, and across the bridge. He sighed in relief when he saw that everything was still the same- the sun was still shining, and a car was driving past. There was just a small problem with that.

The car wasn't actually moving. The exhaust protruding from the exhaust pipe refused to float away. Ruby leaves were frozen in mid-fall from a nearby tree. The realization of what exactly had happened hit him, and he groaned in frustration.

"I've frozen _time_."

* * *

"But we have to play!" cried Teralyn, looking upset. She stared at Jim in desperation, looking like she was trying not to sob. "We can take them, even if we only have three people!"

Jim looked almost like he was sorry for her. She was the greatest basketball player in the school, after all, and he wasn't very fond of Gary Lambre. He and his crew of thugs would have been their opponents, but clearly the match wasn't going to happen.

"Sorry, Vohn," said Jim, "But rules are rules. You must have all four contestants in order to play the game. Lambre and his friends get to automatically move to the next round. The Scorpions are out."

Tom stared at Teralyn. He'd never seen her this close to tears before, and it killed him to witness her in such a state. Jim strode away, leaving their team to stand there in shock that they'd lost this easily. Carefully, he wrapped both arms around her shoulders, and she leaned against him, grateful for the silent comfort.

He noticed Gary and his so-called 'friends' standing nearby, stupid grins on their faces at their easy victory. Lambre sauntered up to them, the sneer of a lifetime on his face as he began to gloat.

"Well, it looks like you'll be watching us play in the next round," he jeered. Mira didn't even look at him, though her face hardened slightly. Tom felt the anger boiling up inside him, but pushed it down, determined not to fall for Gary's taunt. Teralyn, however, had other ideas.

She gently extricated herself from Tom's embrace and stepped up to Gary, a calm look on her face. "That's funny," she responded. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're relieved that you didn't have to face us."

"You sayin' I'm scared?" barked Gary, his eyebrows contracting into a look of rage.

"Maybe," replied Teralyn coolly. "You'll never know, will you?"

Her words had an effect that was about the equivalent of a slap in the face. Gary's team looked outraged at the obvious insult, while Tom stifled his own laughter. Mira didn't seem to really be listening to the conversation, once again choosing to open her laptop and check on Lyoko. Adam's disappearance was taking its toll on her. Teralyn strode away gracefully before Gary could come up with a retort, leaving Tom and Mira to follow. Her dark red ponytail swung slightly as she walked along.

Tom realized that Teralyn was going to take this sudden defeat with as much pride as she could, and that it wasn't going to get her down. Still, I was obvious that she wasn't all that happy about it. Tom sighed.

They really needed Adam back.

* * *

The blond fourteen year old in question walked slowly through the gates of Kadic, looking unsure of what he was doing. He'd been going through town for what seemed like hours, observing the people who were frozen in the middle of certain actions. There'd been one amusing sight in which a dog was in the middle of urinating in front of a fire hydrant, but other than that it was like walking through a movie scene put on pause.

Little was happening at the school. He remembered that it was still only about six in the morning, so not many people would be up. Adam was unsurprised to see Principal Delmas already seated at his desk in his office, but it was a bit of a shock when he noticed that Jeremie Belpois was on the bench in the courtyard, holding open a book. Bending down, Adam saw that the title read Geometry: An Intermediate Study.

He must be studying for a test or something, thought Adam. At that moment, something caught his eye that made him suspicious. He tilted his head to the left to see that Stella was frozen in the middle of walking to the park. He almost laughed out loud with relief, realizing that she was just as affected by this as everyone else. Her yellow eyes still had that chilling effect on him, however.

Adam was about to head for the cafeteria to see if he could get his hands on some food, when Stella moved.

Her head turned so that her malicious eyes were looking straight at him. A smirk appeared on her face when he stepped back in horror, and she began walking towards him. It didn't really look like she intended to have a friendly chat.

Crap, thought Adam.

* * *

Mira's foot tapped once. Then it hit the floor again. And again, and again, and again…

She glanced up at the clock, only half-listening to her history teacher drone on and on about the French Revolution. The minute hand was on the fifty-nine mark, agonizingly close to making the bell ring once again. Time was really not on her side that day.

"…and for homework, I want a two page response to the execution of Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette. This will be due on Thursday," he called, raising his voice in order to make himself heard above the groans of protest from her classmates.

The moment she stepped out of the classroom, she whipped open her laptop, running yet another scan on Lyoko. As usual, it came up negative, but she couldn't help but hope that something different would happen this time. She felt lost; this was the first time that she had had no idea what to do when they encountered a problem.

Students spilled into the courtyard, chatting excitedly about the intramural game that would occur this afternoon. Many were disappointed that the Scorpions wouldn't be playing; a few had even given their condolences to Teralyn, saying that they were sorry she couldn't kick Gary's butt. Mira could care less about basketball at that moment, but she did feel bad for Teralyn.

Heading over to her bench, she sat down, and was slightly surprised when Aelita Stones (or Schaeffer, as Mira knew her real last name to be) joined her. She closed the window that had Lyoko on it quickly, opening up an Internet browser almost at once.

"Mira," she said quietly, "Are you alright?"

Mira forced herself to smile. What a stupid question. "I'm fine," she replied, hating how her voice almost cracked. She couldn't quite hide how devastated she was by Adam's disappearance, but Aelita didn't seem to notice. Despite now being in the tenth grade, the pink haired girl had never lost her naïveté.

"Jeremie noticed how you seem out of it today," Aelita continued, looking sympathetic. "We thought that maybe you'd like to take a break from lessons today."

Realizing that this meant she'd have plenty of time to head for the supercomputer and look for Adam, Mira nodded rapidly. "Sorry," she squeaked, "But I just don't think I can focus."

"I understand," said Aelita, giving her shoulder a light squeeze before standing and hurrying off to where her friends waited for her. Mira felt excitement begin to trickle back into her, and she quickly looked around for Tom and Teralyn.

They waved, Tom coming from the music department and Teralyn heading over from the science building. As they headed over to her, however, Mira felt another splitting headache come on.

She tried to hold herself upright, but it was impossible to tell if she was actually doing so. All she knew was that suddenly, the courtyard was empty of people. Leaves that were falling from the trees had stopped in midair. Over to the right, however, she could see Adam, backing away from a menacing Stella.

As soon as the vision came, it was gone. She groaned softly, in order to see the Tom and Teralyn still hadn't reached her. Concern came upon their faces when they saw that she was in a bad state, and Teralyn jogged the rest of the way over.

"You okay?" she asked, sounding worried.

"I am now," said Mira, looking up just as Tom stopped in front of her. "I was right about that orb," she continued. "It did have to do with time. It froze time."

Both of them looked perplexed. "That doesn't make any sense," commented Teralyn. "Everyone's still moving, and time's been passing."

"That's because it's only been frozen for Adam. While it's almost 3:15 here, it's still six in the morning for him. He's in trouble; Stella's somehow managed to get in the same limbo as him, and I… I think she's going to try and kill him."

"How do we get him out of there?" questioned Tom. He hadn't spoken until now, digesting all the information first. His blue eyes were wide with worry, and his hands were shaking slightly at the thought of the death of his best friend.

"There's only one place where weird stuff like this can be fixed," said Mira.

"Lava sector," groaned Teralyn. "Great. I hoped we were going to get more of a break from that place."

* * *

Adam felt a sharp intake of breath as Stella jabbed him lightning fast in his stomach. She had a small smile on her face as she faced him. It had only been five minutes (at least, that's what Adam thought) and she was already on the verge of knocking him unconscious. A flash caught the corner of his eye as he tried to backpedal away from his opponent, and he thought he saw Mira sitting on the park bench, staring at him.

Stella's roundhouse kick caught him in the chest, and he thought he heard something crack as he flew against one of the pillars. Wincing, he stood up, bending over slightly as his chest burned with pain. Why was it that he was the one always getting broken bones?

Looking over at the bench again, he saw that Mira was gone, and the only person there was Jeremie, his eyes still fixed on his book. Turning, he began to run, ignoring the searing pain as his ribs begged him to stop.

He had to get back to the factory. He had to virtualize himself onto Lyoko; at least there, he wouldn't have to put up with a broken rib.

He stumbled through the park, hearing Stella's ghostly laughter floating after him as he headed for the manhole cover.

Turning into the small clearing, he yelled in shock and fear when he beheld Stella leaning against a tree, that fiendish grin on her face.

"Please," she rasped. "You didn't really think you'd be able to escape, did you? None of you can, and Mira will be the first to go."

He denied it, yelled in her face as he attempted to punch her in the gut. He missed, surprised at how quickly she was at his side, landing a hit on his ear. Head ringing, he lunged for the manhole cover, sliding into the sewers and replacing it quickly out of desperation to get away from her. He almost fell down the ladder as his vision blackened from the pain, but managed to cling to it until his sight became clear once more.

Carefully, he made his way down, grabbing a skateboard once he reached the bottom. He coughed several times, spitting a glob of blood mixed with saliva onto the cement below him. Setting the skateboard on the ground, he hopped aboard and sped away, glad to feel the wind in his ears instead of Stella's laughter.

Yet somehow, an echo of it still rang in the back of his mind.

* * *

"Abnormal conduit," muttered Mira, her emerald eyes scanning the computer screen in front of her. "Just what we needed- another dilemma in this whole fiasco."

Teralyn slapped a hand to her forehead, letting it slide down her face as she let out an exasperated sigh. They'd have to split up the group now, which was doubtless what Stella wanted to happen. She looked around, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

A second look told her otherwise. She saw something orange out of the corner of her eye, and her eyes widened when she realized that it was fire. A fire that was rapidly spreading to surround the entire campus. It wasn't long before the other students noticed, and even less long after that that the screaming began.

Mira didn't even have to say anything. The three of them sprinted for the boiler room, Teralyn in front and Tom behind. Teralyn herself was slightly more than terrified; her uncle had perished in a fire, trapped in his apartment while the blaze consumed him.

The park was blocked off by the hungry flames, which were beginning to push toward the school. She dodged around other students, noticing that several of the older ones carried fire extinguishers. As if that would help against Stella, she thought.

The boiler room was still accessible, much to her relief. Stella hadn't found a way to block access to it, and the three of them ran through in order to get to the factory. The trip through the sewers barely wore her out, so great was her determination to stop that fire.

Once the three of them were gathered in the computer room, Mira turned to them. Teralyn could tell that her black haired friend was thinking fast, trying to determine the best way to get them out of this situation.

"Okay," she said slowly. "Two of us are going to the lava sector; the other is heading for the abnormal conduit."

"Wouldn't it make more sense to just send one person to the lava sector?" asked Teralyn, feeling a slight frustration that Mira wasn't getting her priorities straight.

"No, Mira's right," said Tom suddenly. When Teralyn turned and gave him a skeptical look, he stood his ground, staring her in the eye. She felt momentarily overwhelmed by his steely gaze, and looked away. "It makes sense," he continued, "that Stella would use the fire as a diversion in order to get us away from Adam. She'll probably send more monsters to the lava sector than the conduit, which is…"

"In the reef sector," said Mira dryly. "Ironic, isn't it, how it's the same place we were this morning?"

"I'll go," Teralyn volunteered abruptly. "I can handle it."

Mira gave her a long look, as though assessing whether Teralyn could really keep her word. She finally seemed to decide that the redhead was capable of lowering the energy level, and nodded.

"Head for the scanner room," she said. "Tom, stay here; we'll go down after I set up the delayed virtualization." Teralyn turned to leave the room, catching Tom's eye one last time. There were only two words on face, which she could read clearly. _Be safe_.

Idiot. She was supposed to be telling him that.

* * *

Adam went back across the bridge, pausing only to stare at the small sliver of sun that was emerging over the horizon. Or at least, it was in the middle of emerging; the other half still hadn't come up yet.

Turning, he hurried back into the factory, half-falling down the rope as pain from his ribs assailed him again. He cried out as he hit the bottom, unable to prevent the sound from leaving him.

He didn't know how he was going to get down the ladder; in his state, it would be nearly impossible to accomplish such a feat. Even so, he hobbled over in determination, hoping he would somehow be able to solve this problem. Why had he touched that orb?

The climb was probably the worst thing he'd ever done, including running almost all the way through the lava sector. He winced several times along the way, coughing up more blood by the time he got to the bottom. He tried his best to ignore the dark spots on the metallic flooring.

Mira still sat frozen at the desktop, in the exact same position as before. He paused, and, unable to help himself, ran his fingers through her hair. Despite being in thick curls, it was surprisingly soft.

He looked away from her face, which he thought was beautiful, in order to think of a way to get her out of the chair- and almost screamed.

Stella stood there, in front of the elevator, her white hair hanging down in her eyes, which burned right through him. Her laugh made him want to cower in fear- he'd never been so panicked by something in his life.

Maybe it was the fact that he was entirely alone against her, the fact that he had no one to help him fight her. She advanced on him with deadly grace, hitting him in his temple and coming close to making him black out. He barely managed to keep himself from crying out when she landed another punch on his ribs, sending him flying against the wall. Another glob of blood flew out of his mouth.

"There's nowhere to run, Adam," she said, her voice sounding both loud and quiet at the same time. He really wished Mira were there. For real.

* * *

Mira stepped into the scanner, watching as the doors closed first around Tom, then herself. After the whirling finally halted, she landed beside the glowing river beside him, straightening easily. She brushed her now long and straight hair behind her ears, before beginning the hike up the riverbank.

It was grueling, as always; once they were at the part where the riverbank dropped away to a cliff, they waited for the wave to pass. It roared by, with Mira feeling its warmth on her face like the breath of some giant animal.

Thankfully, by now, they were used to rock-hopping, as Adam called it. She felt a twinge of sadness as she thought of him, and quickly resolved to find a solution as fast as possible.

The core and interface were just up ahead, fumes from the many volcanoes all around them hiding them from view. Mira thought that she could also make out three scorpions, as well as four wolves.

"Stella certainly sent the cavalry this time," she commented aloud. Tom nodded, not taking his eyes off the monsters as he calculated how to best destroy them. Mira glanced over at him, checking to make sure he was ready.

"You got the scorpions?" she asked.

He nodded again, giving consent to her unasked question as well: whether he minded if she took on the wolves.

They leapt into action at the same time, Mira sprinting toward the wolves and unsheathing her black curved sword at the same time. The wolves reared up on their hind legs, snarling as sharp claws extended from their paws. Mira thought she felt everything almost slow down, and she was almost guided by her fighting instinct.

First, she used Flash Dodge to move away from the center wolf, so that she was in front of the one on her left. It nearly fell back in surprise, allowing her to give it a kick in the chest that sent it flying into the wolf behind it. Turning, she easily blocked the slash from another wolf- almost as if she'd seen it coming. She managed to catch her sword between its claws, and she wrenched it over to her right, dislocating its front leg before stabbing it as it lay on the ground.

Second, she flipped over the pixilating wolf and landed on the shoulders of another, catching it by surprise. She stabbed it between her legs, easily burying her sword in its throat, before leaping down from her opponent.

Third, she turned to see both the wolves she'd previously immobilized coming at her, swiping at her. She dove between them, timing it just so that their claws embedded themselves in each other's shoulders.

Four, it was simple to stab them in the abdomen and finish them off. It all took place in less than a minute.

She turned to see that Tom wasn't anywhere near coming close to defeating the three scorpions, even though his eyes were glowing blue with the use of True Eye. He was able to predict their moves, but countering them was another matter.

His mouth opened slightly when he noticed how quickly she'd taken care of her adversaries. He blocked a jab from one of the scorpion's stingers with his twin daggers, before shouting, "Go! I'll hold them off."

Mira heeded his advice, aware that the world seemed to be moving at a normal speed again. She frowned; it was the same as what had occurred when she and Stella had fought, when Faustina had come with them to Lyoko. What was happening to her?

Brushing aside the thought, she hurried over to the Lyoko interface. Placing her hand on the monitor, her name popped up before the many files stored here appeared. Taking a deep breath, she selected the file labeled 'Adam'.

His status currently read, 'Limbo'. Ah, so all she had to do was change his status? That was simple, for her. She pressed a few places on the screen, altering the status until it said, 'loading'. That made her guess that whatever was bringing Adam back was going to take a little while.

Something flashed before her eyes, showing Adam struggling to stand in the computer room. Stella stood over him, her yellow eyes alight with triumph.

Panic entered her, and she whipped around in time to see Tom finish off the last of the scorpions. He turned to her as she yelled for him to devirtualize her, which he obliged in by flinging one of his daggers straight at her. She looked down in time to see her body dissolving into tiny blue squares.

* * *

Adam tried, with all his might, to rise and fight again. However, this time she had kicked him the knee; it was still numb as a result.

"One way or another, Adam," she said softly, raising a hand. "She is going to die. You all will, but you'll be the first." He felt himself trembling in anger at her words, but inside they horrified him. "That way, there won't be anything you can do about it."

Her hand closed around his neck, and he realized that Stella would be true to her word. She would kill him, all right.

Suddenly, the pressure vanished, and he opened his eyes in time to see everything flying around him. Stella vanished before she could even react, and he collapsed to the floor in relief.

The whirling stopped.

"Adam?" came a whisper, from the elevator. It was just closing, and he was vaguely aware of Mira walking towards him. "Oh god, Adam!"

He looked up at her emerald eyes, which had crystal tears emerging from them. He smiled slightly, and reached up and brushed them from her face. She gingerly laid him back down, before telling him not to move and heading over to the computer chair.

* * *

The students huddle in the dorm hallways, many of them whimpering and waiting for the fire to close in on the building and consume them all. Isis and her friend held on to each other and sobbed in terror, while others ran about in panic.

Jim watched all of this, and wondered when the heck the firefighters would be getting there.

* * *

Teralyn thumbed the switch on her lightwhip, cracking at the nearby lizard. It shrieked in protest, before it too dissipated.

The small clearing was now clear of adversaries. It hadn't been that difficult; merely a quick use of Time Stop, and she easily destroyed the last of the monsters that were present. The coral all around her was colored slightly red from the aura around the conduit. She pushed her way through the field, finding herself between three revolving screens.

It was a simple matter to place her hand on one, and lower the bright scarlet bar.

* * *

Isis could feel the heat on her back when everything stopped. A white light obliterated everything in her mind.

* * *

Adam side glanced, noticing that Teralyn was standing with her knees slightly bent, not taking her eyes off of the basketball in front of her. Tom stood on her other side, with Mira behind her. He met her eyes briefly, indulging in the intimacy of their gaze for a moment before turning back to the game.

Jim tossed up the ball, and Teralyn executed a perfectly timed jump, hitting the ball towards him. He caught it, and began dribbling down the court, easily dodging Gary and one of his thugs, Daniel. He bounce-passed to Tom, who threw the ball over to Mira. Mira ducked beneath the flailing arms of another of their opponents, skillfully weaving her way over to the net.

He watched as she tightened her grip on the ball, throwing it over to Teralyn, who performed a slam dunk.

The crowd sitting in the bleachers cheered, ecstatic to see the star of basketball score the first point. Adam exchanged a quick grin with Tom, grateful that he was actually here to see it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone with white, long hair standing in the gym doorway, her malevolence almost palpable. He remembered her warning, and found himself inching protectively towards Mira.

He had no doubt that someday, Stella would attempt to fulfill her vow. She wasn't the type of person to break a promise.

Author's note: I made this chapter a little darker than the rest, and focused it more on Mira's possible future. Teralyn's love of basketball is something that will be explained eventually, but not now. I hope that the romance between Tom and Teralyn, as well as Mira and Adam, was convincing.

Please, review! I haven't had a review for this story in ages, and I need to know how I'm doing so far. If you have the time... please, let me know how I'm doing. Also, there's a poll on my profile that has all of my own characters. If you're a big fan of one of the characters in this story (or others I've written), go ahead and vote!


	13. Chapter 13: The Wrong Names

"Can you believe this?" muttered Mira, to where Tom stared absentmindedly out the window. "Our parents are shipping us off to some boarding school. I was just fine at our public school, thank you very much."

"I wouldn't worry about it so much," he murmured quietly. "They think that we're smart enough to go to this Kadic place, so that's where we're headed. You have to admit that you can do a lot of stuff Mira, and they don't even know about your hacking abilities."

"Thanks, I guess." Twelve year old Mira slumped in the seat of the car as the countryside whizzed by, giving them no hint as to where they were going. She messed with her thick black curls, constantly fidgeting from restlessness. She just couldn't seem to keep still, no matter how hard she tried to. She was anxious, to say the least; she hated not knowing what was going to happen.

"Looks like we'll be arriving there soon, you two," said Tom's mother cheerfully. "Oh, you'll both love Kadic, I know it! Some of the top students in the country have gone to this school. Have you ever heard of Jeremie Belpois?"

Tom stared at her blankly; Mira nodded.

"The best at everything, from what I've heard," she stated, looking serious. "That is, except sports, if his reputation's anything to go by."

Tom muttered something so quietly that Mira barely caught it, but she punched him in the arm in response, making him wince.

After another hour, Mira was considering breaking a window or something, when they arrived at last. The buildings were plain looking, and many students were already lined up outside the school, chatting with one another calmly. Many of them looked rather bored, with a 'been-there-done-that' look on the faces of most. Mira opened the door of her car hesitantly, with Tom following right behind her. She couldn't help but be slightly nervous; most of the others appeared to already know one another.

Retrieving their baggage from the trunk, they bid Tom's parents goodbye, watching as the car disappeared around a corner. Mira had had to say farewell to her own parents before leaving, as she and Tom would be carpooling. Turning, they both inhaled simultaneously and strode forward into the courtyard.

Their entrance turned quite a few heads, and the whispering ensued almost at once. Mira caught phrases such as, "Not from around here," and, "New kids." She curled her fists in anger, muttering under her breath about how they shouldn't be judging the two of them.

Without warning, a group of boys seemed to appear out of nowhere in front of them. Leading them was a blond haired boy, his steely gray eyes meeting Mira's own emerald orbs calmly.

"Newbs, huh?" he asked, grinning. He kept his hands in his pockets, not bothering to offer one to shake. "Name's Adam Polanka. You?"

Mira was about to snap that it was none of his business, when Tom put his hand on her arm. "Calm down," he muttered, before speaking amiably to Adam. "I'm Tom Saratra. This is Mira Anderson."

"Hey Tom. Hey Mara."

Mira felt something inside her snap. "It's _Mira_, you"-

"We should probably be going," Tom interrupted, quickly dragging Mira away. She scowled but complied, waiting until they were out of earshot before she began ranting.

"I can't believe that jerk!" she exclaimed heatedly.

Tom merely rolled his eyes, sighing in exasperation. "Only five minutes on this campus and you already hate someone. I know you weren't happy to come here in the first place, but still…"

"Yeah, well…" Mira struggled for the right thing to say, but it wouldn't come to mind. "Whatever. Let's just go find our rooms, or something." She began making her way in the direction of a line of students, all waiting outside what looked like the cafeteria, probably to pick up their schedules and boarding assignments. She pulled her suitcase along with her, Tom following right behind.

Ever since meeting at three years old (in which Mira had 'accidentally' given him a rather tight hug, and then spilled hot chocolate all over him), the two became inseparable. Best friends for life, according to their parents, but at their elementary school it was a different story. Speculation went around that they were in love, but Mira would usually go so far as to hack that person's email and have them send embarrassing messages to their friends as punishment for assuming that.

What she knew (and what her parents did not) was that their old school had discovered her antics. When she barely managed to worm her way out of a punishment and subsequently reveal that she was actually much more intelligent than she let on, despite only getting mediocre grades in the past, they suggested to her parents that she go to boarding school. Thankfully, it took only a small amount of begging to convince Tom's parents to do the same.

Upon finding out that she was in Room 213 (Tom was in Room 345), she made her way upstairs in the dormitory. She was relieved to discover that she had no roommates, and that she would be alone for the most part. Apparently, they had free time until an afternoon assembly, but they were unable to leave school grounds.

She placed her laptop on her new desk, noticing that the place was scrupulously clean. Most likely it would stay that way; she could be something of a neat-freak at times. She decided to go check up on Tom, and hopefully she wouldn't be caught by Jim. Already she had gleaned that he was probably someone to avoid, based on how much he seemed to enjoy students getting into trouble.

As she made her way up the stairs and down the hall, she was joined by an unwelcome presence.

"Hey there, Moira. How do you like our grand school so far?"

She said nothing, but she did shoot him the dirtiest look possible. Adam walked along beside her, hands stuck in his pockets, the ever-present smirk on his face. She continued ignoring his presence, until he had the nerve to poke her.

"Not very talkative?" he asked, grinning at her. Her eyebrow twitched, and after what seemed like hours, she made it to Tom's room. Reaching up to the door, she rapped three times, hard.

"Talking to your friend, Tom, huh?" said Adam, still there. "Well, I wouldn't want to disturb you two lovebirds. I'll be seeing you at the assembly then, Mirror."

Deep breaths, Mira, she told herself, her hands balled up into fists as he sauntered casually away. Tom opened the door, looking unsurprised.

"C'mon in," he said, gesturing for her to enter. Mira immediately sat down in his desk chair, pressing her palms against her eyeballs. "Was that Adam guy bugging you again?"

"How'd you know?"

"To be perfectly honest, Mira, I know you get pissed off… a lot… but you don't usually show it so clearly."

"That bad, huh," she murmured, opening her eyes and glancing at Tom's blue ones. He only looked concerned for her, always the serious one. She sighed again, standing up. "Let's go outside for awhile. Find something else to do."

They did so, with her leading the way and him trailing behind, like always. Mira didn't deny that a lot of things angered her, but she usually thought that she had good reason to be angry. Her excuse was that she was just following the natural order of things, though her parents claimed that she was just a bit of a whiner.

Head held high, she marched outside, where other students were loitering, awaiting the assembly until later. She heard someone nearby complaining about them not being able to explore the town, but ignored it. A moment later, something collided with the side of her head, causing her vision to blacken for a moment while pain shot through her skull.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Uh, hey, could you pass that?"

The last statement was directed to Tom, who picked up the offending object (a basketball) and threw it to a tall girl that Mira hadn't seen before. "Thanks!" she called, before running back to a basketball hoop on the edge of the courtyard, her dark red hair swinging in a long ponytail behind her. Mira snuck a look out of the corner of her eye, noticing that Tom was staring after her with a curious expression on his face.

"Come on," she called impatiently. "Let's get going already!"

She saw him blink and visibly shake himself before joining her. Mira looked back at the girl once- she was shooting baskets with quite a bit of skill, but was clearly playing alone.

She's probably got friends, thought Mira. There was no need to talk to her.

"Tom!" came a shout from behind her, and they both turned to see her pet peeve striding over to them quickly. Adam had a smirk on his face and slung his arm around Tom's shoulders like they had been best buddies for their entire life. Mira prevented herself from scowling at the sight of the blond kid. His gray eyes were trained on her. "Hey again, Margie."

Margie? Okay, that was it; he was so dead.

"Don't start foaming at the mouth now," warned Adam, still grinning. Oh, how she wanted to wipe that silly smile off of his face…

"So, I just wanted to let you two know something. After the assembly we- that is to say, our peers- are going to be meeting in the courtyard for a little gathering. Just to get to know each other, you know? Newbs have to be there, so you'd better show."

He detached himself from Tom before hollering, "Later!" and trotting off to join his group of friends.

"He was rhyming," Tom commented idly. Despite the fact that her fists were shaking in rage, Mira snorted. Of course Tom would notice a strange little detail like that.

* * *

Adam wouldn't go so far as to call himself the leader of a gang. No, nothing like that, but he was part of a pretty notorious group. The others, Gary included, all listened to what he said and generally went along with it, too. He couldn't really help it, but he liked that fact; being in charge made him feel important.

The assembly was making him fall asleep. Beside him, Gary was already snoring away, a fact that he wouldn't hesitate to tease him about later. Adam found his eyes wandering over to the corner where Mary and Tom sat together, both huddled together and whispering about something. He smirked again when he remembered how angry she'd been when he kept getting her name wrong; she'd looked really adorable, all puffed up like that.

At long last, Principal Delmas dismissed everyone, directing them to get to the cafeteria for dinner and then off to bed at around nine o' clock. There would be plenty of time for the little game they had to play later.

Dinner was an uneventful affair. His group seated themselves at their usual table, at the opposite end from Teralyn Vohn, who sat alone as always. She had a disgruntled look on her face, and was poking at her food. Adam all but ignored her, focusing on Mary again. She didn't eat much- just a salad- and was still chatting with Tom. The guy didn't talk much, by the look of it.

His eyes wandered around to observe everyone else. Most people exhibited the usual behaviors: Isis was speaking with her friend nervously, Johnny and Hiroki were laughing at something, Ulrich Stern was casting jealous glances at where Yumi Ishiyama and William Dunbar sat together, while Jeremie Belpois, Odd Della Robbia, Aelita Stones, and Faustina Nelland all sat with their heads close together, speaking quietly and urgently about something. Jeremie suddenly opened his laptop, scanned it, and then the lot of them (apart from William) left, hurrying out of the cafeteria.

Adam raised his eyebrow at this. That was certainly odd.

He turned his attention back over to Vohn, who ate quickly but quietly.

"You'll be at the gathering, right?" he asked. He noticed Gary leering at her in an unpleasant way. Many knew that Gary thought that Teralyn was hot, but he overall didn't really approve of this.

"What, so you can humiliate the newbs?" asked Vohn, sounding tired. Must have been from playing all of that basketball. "Yeah, sure, whatever. I've got nothing else to do."

A shark's grin appeared on Adam's face. Teralyn was fun to mess with, even if she was more controlled than that new girl. She refused to look at him, and soon stood up, deposited her tray, and exited the room. Most of the others began to follow suit soon after, with members of the seventh grade all heading for the middle of the courtyard for the meeting. Mara and Tom headed in that direction too, and Adam felt it would soon be prudent to follow suit.

As the others followed him, he stuck his hands in his pockets. This was going to be entertaining.

* * *

Teralyn almost laughed when she saw how many had shown up. Really, were they all idiots? It wasn't like they were really required to show up, but she supposed that Adam and his crew could be a little more intimidating. She noticed the curly haired girl that she'd hit with her basketball earlier, along with the brown haired boy who had tossed it back to her. Neither of them looked at that comfortable being there, as they drew quite a few stares from everyone else.

She felt bad for the newbies.

Sure enough, Adam and the cronies showed up, calling for those present to gather around. She already knew what this would consist of, and so she tuned out the instructions, watching instead as the girl and boy from before glanced at each other, confused expressions on their faces.

"Any questions?" called Adam.

"Yeah, I've got a question," called the black haired girl. "Why is this game so lame?"

"Now _you're_ rhyming," muttered the boy next to her.

Adam's grin turned decidedly more frigid at that comment, but he didn't reply to her comment, although the rest of his gang looked ready to beat up the girl. Teralyn felt her respect for the girl rise a bit; clearly, she wasn't about to take any crap.

"Alright then," said Adam, revealing an empty water bottle that he'd probably taken from dinner. "I suppose I'll have the first spin." Everyone formed a circle around it, and as fortune would have it, the cap of the bottle ended facing her. Teralyn rolled her eyes.

"Alright Vohn," said Adam, clapping his hands together. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Who do you think is attractive in our school?"

Teralyn almost laughed again; he couldn't have come up with something more embarrassing? Just because someone was attractive, it didn't mean that she had to have a crush on them.

"You, that kid," she nodded at Tom, "Dunbar, Stern, Rembrandt, Lith. That's it."

He looked slightly frustrated at her nonchalant response. "Your turn to spin."

She did so, with the cap ending on poor Isis. "Truth or dare, Isis."

"T-truth."

"What did you have for dinner?" she asked dully.

Isis sent her a bemused, but grateful look. "Pasta."

Teralyn nodded, satisfied with that. Isis spun the bottle, then that kid (whose name she learned was Tom). It landed on Gary this time.

"Truth or dare?"

"Dare."

She saw the tiniest of smirks appear on Tom's face. Her respect meter went up for him as well.

"Admit any and all past wrongs you've ever done to Jim," he ordered.

She couldn't help it; this time she burst out laughing, along with many others in the circle. Oh, it just kept getting better. What's more, Gary couldn't refuse unless he wanted to be humiliated in front of the entire grade. He stood up, glaring darkly in Tom's direction, before storming off. Another boy named Harold went with him to make sure he actually did it.

Gary never arrived back; according to Harold, he was currently being lectured sternly by Principal Delmas. Several people called out congratulations to Tom, who mock-bowed. Adam once again took up the bottle, spinning it around and around.

It landed on Tom's companion.

Teralyn winced; nothing good would come of that. She knew that the sinister smile on his face meant no good for the girl.

"Truth or dare, Marie?"

For some reason, Marie's face hardened. Teralyn frowned slightly; Marie didn't seem like a good fit for her.

"Dare."

Several people winced in sympathy.

When Adam told her what he wanted her to do, her face tightened even more, but other than that her expression didn't change. Getting up, she slowly strode over to where he stood. An innocent kiss on the cheek was all, but at the last moment, the crafty sneak turned his head.

Several cat calls and jeers rang out, but Marie quickly pulled back before it even turned into anything, shooting an intense glare at Adam. Teralyn sighed to herself; the drama would never end, it seemed. Tom was staring darkly at the blond boy as Mira seated herself next to him, her face a deep shade of red.

"You still have to spin the bottle, Moira," called Adam. Teralyn blinked; wasn't her name Marie?

Whoever the girl was, she stomped over to the bottle, spinning it so that it landed right back on Adam. She blinked several times, before a huge grin stretched on her face.

"Truth or dare?" she asked sweetly.

"Dare," he replied, looking unusually calm.

"Say my name. My real name."

Teralyn slapped a hand to her forehead at that. So that was what it was? Adam had been getting it wrong on purpose all this time?

Surprisingly, Polanka actually looked reluctant to comply. He scowled at her, but she kept smiling at him viciously. At last, he gritted his teeth. "Mira."

"Thank you," she said, still smiling. Carelessly, she tossed the bottle at him. "You get to spin again."

Teralyn resolved to find some way to give the two newbies a medal.

* * *

Mira awoke on her first day of school feeling oddly refreshed. Sunlight streamed through her window and onto her desk, casting everything in a warm light. She stretched, realizing that she already felt at home at Kadic. She scowled; that wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to be angry to be here.

After struggling to put on her sandals, she was finally ready to make her way down for breakfast. Tom hadn't arrived yet, so she sat alone, looking up everything about the school on her laptop. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards when she realized that the computer system would be easy to crack- anything that needed changing, in her opinion, would be changed. Maybe she could tweak her schedule, in case it didn't match up to Tom's.

Absently, she took a large bite out of her croissant, chewing slowly while her eyes traveled up and down the screen. Heh, a breach wouldn't even be noticed by the school authority. She began typing, going through all the necessary codes with ease.

However, she was forced to quickly sign off and make it look like she was doing something innocent, like checking her e-mail, when the red haired girl abruptly sat next to her.

"Morning," she said, with a yawn. Mira stared at her, not really sure why this girl was here. Sure, she had seen her at the game last night, but she hadn't really spoken to her at all. What was her name again? It started with a "T"…

"I'm Teralyn," the girl explained. "I just wanted to say good job for getting Adam and Gary all riled up yesterday. I'd tell your friend, Tom, too, but it looks like he's not here yet."

"I am now," came his tired voice, as he seated himself across from Mira. "Nice to meet you by the way," he added to Teralyn, rubbing his eyes. He glanced at Mira's laptop, before shooting her a warning look. She stuck her tongue out at him.

Tom glanced skyward in exasperation before turning to Teralyn. "So, you play basketball, right?"

"Right." And soon, the two were in a deep discussion on famous players, records, and Teralyn's dream of going professional. Mira wondered why it was the Teralyn didn't seem to have very many friends; she was talkative and friendly enough, and was clearly a talented person.

Mira noticed Adam enter the cafeteria, which caused a scowl to appear on her face. The memory of what had occurred the previous night was not something that was about to just vanish. The little sneak had turned his head so that they kissed full on the lips. It had taken all of her self control not to punch him right then and there, but at least now he had actually said her real name. He caught sight of her glaring, and waved cheerfully before sitting with the rest of his group. His eyebrows rose when he saw Teralyn sitting with them.

It turned out that she didn't have very many of the same classes as Tom, but Teralyn was in nearly all of them. They only sat next to one another and didn't converse much, but Mira found herself liking the tall girl. Her silence was a welcome gift, instead of being bothered by Polanka.

After gym class, Mira caught sight of Ulrich and Odd sprinting for the park. She quirked her eyebrow at the unusual sight, but other than that paid no attention.

"We have a free period right now," said Teralyn. Looking slightly uncomfortable, she jerked her head towards the basketball court. "Wanna have a game?"

Mira blinked. She had a feeling that Teralyn was unused to including other people in her practice. With a shrug, she replied, "Sure."

* * *

Tom tried his best not to yawn while listening to his teacher, but one seemed to escape him anyway. He looked over at the windows, but they were too far away for him to really see anything anyway. He wished that Mira was in some of his classes, but knew that there wasn't anything he could do about that; he was surprised that she hadn't hacked the scheduling system to get them into the courses.

Suddenly, a student by the window let out a loud scream.

"Robot!" they shouted, pointing, their face twisting in fear.

Most of the others broke out into laughter, except for those sitting near the window. They were all staring outside in horror, at something that Tom couldn't see. The teacher huffed and strode over to the window, but quickly stumbled away again, something akin to shock on his face. Tom stood up along with most of everyone else in the classroom, hurrying to peer through the glass.

It was some kind of giant red crab, that much he knew. It was advancing on a group huddled together in fear in the courtyard, a group that included the redhead he'd met earlier, and-

A gasp escaped him, and he turned and sprinted out of the classroom, ignoring the teacher's shout of, "Saratra!" that floated after him. Panic filled him; all he could think about was getting to Mira and Teralyn before they were either hurt or killed. He was about to push open the door to go outside when a loud boom shook the building.

"No…" he whispered, throwing the door open.

The students had been scattered by whatever the robot had done, but no one seemed to be hurt. He gaped when he saw Teralyn Vohn run straight at the crab, lifting herself onto its back and hanging on like it was a rodeo competition. He thought he heard her whoop, at least until it managed to fling her off, causing her to land several feet away, dazed.

Tom sprinted over to her, dragging her out of the way just in time to avoid a blast from the thing.

"Where's Mira?" he shouted. Teralyn, unable to speak, only shook her head. Tom cursed, about to go and look for his friend, but then paused.

It wasn't as though he could just abandon Teralyn here, when she wasn't able to move properly.

"Sorry…" slurred Teralyn. "I dunno where she went, or anything."

"It's alright," he replied, placing her arm on his shoulders and lifting her up. However, he was quickly forced to stumble out of the way of a blast. The robot set its sights on them, for a reason unknown to him. He was confident that he could keep the two of them safe.

He wished he could say the same for Mira.

* * *

"You owe me for this later," Adam muttered to an unconscious Mira.

He just arrived in the courtyard to find that Teralyn Vohn was desperately shaking Mira Anderson, trying to get her to move while the crab-like robot loomed over him. He'd acted without thinking, drawing the attention of the thing so that it accidentally shot the academics building. He managed to get over and grab Mira, before hurrying away and leaving the rest to Teralyn, who had seemed to determined to fight the thing off.

Hence the reason why he was currently carrying Mira bridal style, trying to find somewhere where he could leave her safely and go back and help. She showed no signs of waking up, however, and he did not want to be burdened with carrying her while there was a fight to be had.

Something pierced the ground in front of him- a claw from another crab. He gulped, throwing himself and Mira out of the way as quickly as possible.

"Dang it!" he shouted, setting down Mira, his trademark smirk playing around his mouth. "Come and get some, then!"

His smile quickly disappeared when the thing aimed for him, and he ducked, noticing that it hit a pillar, causing it to crumble away. He glanced around wildly for some kind of weapon, but there were none in the vicinity. Adam pushed his fear away, unwilling to just give up.

The thing scuttled towards him (that was just plain freaky), and swatted him into the wall as though he were nothing more than a fly. He hit the wall, feeling the breath driven out of him, and his leg let out a cracking noise. He hissed in pain, realizing that he had broken his ankle. The crab was advancing again, and probably knew that it had him.

"Fine then, kill me!" he shouted defiantly. "Just don't eat me or whatever, okay?"

Something dark flew in front of him, collapsing heavily on top of him when he heard the telltale sign of a shot being fired from the monster. He heaved the body off of him, revealing all-too familiar black curls.

"Idiot!" he shouted, shaking her. Her entire stomach area had been scorched by the blast, and she was shaking in agony. Mira, however, offered him a grin.

"Thought I owed you," she muttered. He opened his mouth to reply, but for once no words came out. He couldn't believe it; the girl who had claimed to all but hate him had just saved his life.

"Mira!" came a shout, as Tom hobbled over, carrying a semiconscious Teralyn on his back. They both dropped to the ground next to him, huddling over the black haired girl in concern. Tom, Mira, and Adam had all but forgotten the enemy behind them, but Teralyn had not. She desperately tugged on Tom's sleeve.

"Go!" she rasped. "You're fast enough to get out of here!"

"Not a chance," replied Tom curtly, turning to face the robot, determination showing in his eyes.

"As if you're facing him alone," panted Mira; Adam watched in astonishment as she somehow forced herself into a standing position, despite the pained look on her face. Teralyn struggled to her feet as well, and it made him feel inadequate, not being capable of standing himself.

To hell with it, he told himself, grasping the wall for support and shifting his weight to his uninjured leg.

"We can take him," stated Mira, her voice coming out more strongly.

At that moment, the crab froze, as though some invisible force had commanded it to stop. Then, a white light enveloped them all. Adam's eyes widened when he realized that all memories of what had happened were leaving him, and he desperately struggled to hang onto them…

* * *

Faustina Nelland wasn't always really the observant type. She tended to focus on the here and now, as well as her own objectives, rather than what was going on around her. But she was almost certain that it had just been the black haired girl, the redhead, and the brunette boy sitting at breakfast before. However, this time around they were joined by a blond boy, and all four were chatting comfortably.

She frowned deeply, nudging Aelita, who sat next to her. Her blue eyes flickered in the direction of the group. "Does that usually happen?"

The pinkette blinked, studying them carefully. "No, I don't think so. They don't seem to remember anything, though; maybe it's just a kind of subconscious effect. They must have helped each other survive the crabs, and it's carrying on."

"It is possible," said Jeremie, breaking into their discussion. "I haven't had much time to study the psychological effects of the return to the pasts, but they could still retain some kind of connection they gained."

"Huh," muttered Faustina, studying them with narrowed eyes. Then the tiniest of smiles appeared on her face. Friendship surpassing amnesia.

It had a nice ring to it.

* * *

Author's note: I am back! Back, from the depths of my Final Fantasy XIII obsession! Now people, just in case you haven't seen my profile, this story has nothing to do with the new season of Code Lyoko coming out. Remember that!

Heh. I'm always so mean to Adam. First he stays behind to fight off the evil Masquerade that Stella summoned, then he's trapped in time with Stella herself, and now he breaks his leg. Again.

Review, please!


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